Here are some football-centric press releases for you as I clear the inbox of press releases that should have been posted either last night or earlier today. But as long as they’re posted, we’re good.

This is from the NFL and the plans for the NFL Kickoff on September 10 in Pittsburgh.

“NFL OPENING KICKOFF 2009 TO CELEBRATE START OF NFL SEASON AND PITTSBURGH STEELERS SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 SHOW AND FREE CONCERT TO FEATURE PERFORMANCES BY TIM McGRAW AND THE BLACK EYED PEAS

NBC/NFL Network Special On Sept. 10, 8-8:30 p.m. ET

Precedes NFL Kickoff Game 2009:
TENNESSEE TITANS vs. PITTSBURGH STEELERS

It is time to “Own The Moment” as the NFL begins its 90^th season with a celebration in its special pregame show, “NFL OPENING KICKOFF 2009” – 8:00 PM ET Thursday, Sept. 10. TIM MC GRAW and THE BLACK EYED PEAS are scheduled to perform.

There will be simulcast coverage of the 30-minute pregame show which will air from 8-8:30 PM ET on NBC and NFL Network. The live pregame broadcast will also be available via NFL Mobile Live only from Sprint.

The performances are part of the celebration to kick off the 2009 season and to honor the six-time Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the city of Pittsburgh.

The show leads into the season opener between the Steelers and the Tennessee Titans at Heinz Field (NBC, Westwood One Radio Sports, 8:30 PM ET).

Both three-time Grammy Award winning artists, McGRAW and THE BLACK EYED PEAS will get it started in the Steel City at a free concert open to the public at Point State Park. More concert details and other community events will be announced shortly.

This is the sixth consecutive year the NFL has saluted the Super Bowl champions with the opening game in their stadium on a Thursday in primetime.

NFL OPENING KICKOFF 2009 is an NFL NETWORK PRODUCTION and will be executive produced by RICKY KIRSCHNER, one of the producers of the Super Bowl pregame and halftime shows and directed by GREGG GELFAND.

HISTORY OF NFL OPENING KICKOFF EVENTS

DATE	LOCATION	NETWORK	TALENT	GAME
9/5/2002	Times Square, New York	CBS, MTV, VH1 and ESPN	Bon Jovi, Enrique Iglesias, Alicia Keys, Eve, Cast of Broadway musical Rent with Joey Fatone of NSYNC	San Francisco at NY Giants (ESPN)
9/4/2003	The National Mall, Washington, DC	ABC	Aerosmith, Mary J. Blige, Aretha Franklin, Britney Spears, Good Charlotte	NY Jets at Washington (ESPN)
9/9/2004	Gillette Stadium, New England/ Metropolitan Park, Jacksonville	ABC	Boston Pops, Mary J. Blige, Destiny’s Child, Elton John, Toby Keith, Lenny Kravitz (NE); Jessica Simpson (Jax.)	Indianapolis at New England (ABC)
9/8/2005	Gillette Stadium, New England/ Los Angeles Coliseum, LA/Detroit	ABC	Green Day, Santana, Michelle Branch, Ozzy Osbourne, Trisha Yearwood (NE); Kanye West, Maroon 5, Good Charlotte, Rihanna (LA); Rolling Stones (taped from Detroit)	Oakland at New England (ABC)
9/7/2006	Heinz Field, Pittsburgh/Miami	NBC	Rascal Flatts, Martina McBride (Pitt.); Diddy, Cassie, Yung Joc, Tego Calderon (Miami)	Miami at Pittsburgh (NBC)
9/6/2007	RCA Dome, Indianapolis	NBC, NFLN	John Mellencamp, Faith Hill, Kelly Clarkson, Hinder, Keyshia Cole, Voices of Unity Youth Choir	New Orleans at Indianapolis (NBC)
9/4/2008	Columbus Circle, New York City	NFLN, NBC	Natasha Bedingfield, Keith Urban, Usher	Washington at New York Giants (NBC)
9/10/2009	Heinz Field, Pittsburgh	NFLN, NBC	Tim McGraw, The Black Eyed Peas	Tennessee at Pittsburgh (NBC)

To ESPN which says Chris Mortensen’s long bus ride across the NFL’s training camp continues this week.

The Bus Rolls On: Mort’s Training Camp Tour at Midway Point

Senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen is officially halfway into his three-week “Mort Goes to Camp” road trip to cover 21 NFL training camps in 24 days. He next visits two camps in New York — Bills (Fri./Rochester) and Giants (Sat./Albany) — and ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Conn., (Thurs.) before heading south this weekend for the final leg of his trip. In addition to covering the teams, Mortensen has enjoyed surrounding sights and scenery along the way. He has taken his bus for a spin on the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and he rolled through Times Square on the way to Jets camp. Mortensen will continue to provide daily updates on SportsCenter, NFL Live, and ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning, among other programs. He is also tweeting regularly on Twitter (@mortreport).

‘Mort Goes to Camp’ Schedule

Thu, Aug 13	ESPN (Bristol, Conn.)
Fri, Aug 14	Buffalo Bills (Rochester, N.Y.)
Sat, Aug 15	N.Y. Giants (Albany, N.Y.)
Sun, Aug 16	Baltimore Ravens (Westminster, Md.)
Mon, Aug 17	Washington Redskins (Ashburn, Va.)
Tue, Aug 18	Tennessee Titans (Nashville, Tenn.)

Continuing with ESPN, new NFL insider Adam Schefter makes his debut on August 17 just before another Monday Night Football exhibition game.

MNF Preseason: New York Giants Host Carolina Panthers on Monday; Adam Schefter to Make ESPN Debut on Monday Night Countdown at 7 p.m.

ESPN’s Monday Night Football preseason coverage continues when quarterback Eli Manning and the New York Giants host quarterback Jake Delhomme and the Carolina Panthers on Monday, Aug. 17, at 8 p.m. Mike Tirico (play-by-play) and analysts Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden will call the game from the Meadowlands, joined by reporter Suzy Kolber.

NFL Insider Adam Schefter will make his ESPN debut from the studio during the Monday Night Countdown pre-game at 7 p.m. The newest member of ESPN’s NFL team will contribute to SportsCenter, NFL Live, Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown throughout the year as well as ESPN.com, ESPN Radio and other platforms. Chris Berman will host the one-hour Countdown with analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson and senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen, who will report from Redskins training camp in Ashburn, Va., as he continues his 24-day NFL training camp bus tour.

Two UFL releases for you. This one came in Tuesday. It’s the unveiling of the name of the California franchise based in San Francisco.

UNITED FOOTBALL LEAGUE INTRODUCES CALIFORNIA REDWOODS AS TEAM NAME & UNVEILS UNIFORMS

SAN FRANCISCO (August 11, 2009) – At a press conference today, United Football League Commissioner Michael Huyghue announced the California franchise will be named the Redwoods and unveiled innovative team uniforms showcasing the Redwoods’ “Premiere” season colors of green, blue and white. The name “Redwoods” was selected after more than thirty thousand fan entries and interpretation from industry experts and an in-house creative team on what attributes the fans were seeking with their submissions. California Redwoods Owner Paul Pelosi was also in attendance at the press event.

“It was critical for us to select team names that we felt best reflected the local community while simultaneously defining the personality of the team,” said Commissioner Huyghue. “The Redwoods, large, strong trees native to California, symbolize many traits that the UFL and the California franchise plan to embody. The Redwoods and the UFL are reaching for the stars and are eco-friendly.”

Redwoods’ owner Paul Pelosi wanted his team’s name to possess attributes that signified strength, respected the environment and suggested growth opportunities.

Coach Dennis Green who was unable to be in attendance at the press conference due to a previous commitment gave the name high marks. “The true measure of success for a football team is how we produce on the field. The UFL’s success will also be measured in how we connect with the fans in our community. With the Redwoods’ name, we are showcasing our plan to firmly set roots in the community and our desire to cultivate this team into a successful franchise.”

The California Redwoods’ first game of the season will be in Las Vegas on October 8^th. The Redwoods’ first home game will be on Saturday, October 17 at AT&T Park against the Florida franchise. Tickets go on-sale tomorrow and can be purchased by calling Tickets.com at 800.225.2277 or logging onto www.tickets.com.

Today, the UFL released the name of the Florida franchise.

ORLANDO, FL (August 12, 2009) – At a press conference today, United Football League Commissioner Michael Huyghue announced the Florida franchise will be named the Tuskers and unveiled innovative team uniforms showcasing the Tuskers’ “Premiere” season colors of blue, black and white. The name “Tuskers” was selected after more than thirty thousand fan entries and interpretation from industry experts and an in-house creative team on what attributes the fans were seeking with their submissions. Florida Tuskers Head Coach Jim Haslett and Michael Kalt, Tampa Bay Rays’ Senior Vice President of Development and Business Affairs, were also in attendance at the press event.

Commissioner Huyghue also announced that the Tuskers’ game against the Las Vegas Locomotives on October 30th will be played at Tropicana Field, home of the Rays, and that the Rays have reached an agreement in principle to acquire an interest in the UFL’s Florida franchise.

The Florida Tuskers’ first game of the season will be on October 10^th at the Citrus Bowl against New York. Tickets are now on-sale and can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster Charge by Phone at 800.745.3000 or visiting www.ticketmaster.com.

There is one more press release post before I do links. Yes, I will do links tonight so be prepared.