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USA Today
14-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
UFL championship game live updates: TV channel, live stream, how to watch
UFL championship game live updates: TV channel, live stream, how to watch Show Caption Hide Caption Greg Olsen talks Tight End University and what he's excited for in the 2025 NFL season Greg Olsen stops by to talk about another year of Tight End University and who he's excited to watch as the NFL season inches closer. Sports Seriously The United Football League will crown its champion for its 2025 season on Saturday. The Michigan Panthers and DC Defenders will square off for the right to hoist the UFL championship trophy. Neither the Panthers nor the Defenders have won a championship in the modern era of spring football. Michigan won a title during the original USFL days in 1983, but the current Panthers are technically unrelated to that team and have not appeared in a championship game since the 2022 USFL reboot. Meanwhile, DC only came into existence ahead of the 2020 XFL season and lost its lone championship game appearance in 2023 to the Arlington Renegades. Mike Nolan's Panthers enter the championship sporting the UFL's highest-scoring offense and are fresh off a 44-29 USFL conference championship game win over the three-time reigning spring-league champion Birmingham Stallions. Dual-threat quarterback Bryce Perkins was named the UFL's Offensive Player of the Year and will be asked to continue to lead Michigan's offense to success, alongside bruising running back Toa Taua. Shannon Harris' Defenders are coming off a stellar defensive effort against the St. Louis Battlehawks in a 36-18 XFL conference championship win. They are spearheaded by quarterback Jordan Ta'amu, who led the UFL in touchdown passes and will rely heavily on their top-ranked passing offense to match Michigan's output. USA TODAY Sports is tracking all the action from St. Louis as the Panthers and Defenders battle for the UFL championship. Below are the updates and highlight plays from the game. UFL EXPANSION TIMELINE: Why spring league is exploring new cities, teams UFL championship game start time Time: 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) The Michigan Panthers vs. DC Defenders UFL championship game will kick off at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 8 at The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis. UFL championship game TV channel TV: ABC ABC will broadcast the UFL championship game in 2025. Joe Tessitore (play-by-play) and Jordan Rodgers (analyst) will be on the call while Sam Acho and Tom Luginbill report from the sidelines. Erin Dolan will also be a part of ABC's broadcast as a betting analyst. UFL championship game live stream Football fans hoping to catch the UFL championship game will be able to watch it on Fubo, which comes with a free trial, or on ESPN's proprietary streaming service, ESPN+.
Fox Sports
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Five things to watch for in 2025 UFL Championship Game
And then there were two. It all comes down to this, as the DC Defenders take on the Michigan Panthers in the 2025 UFL Championship Game on Saturday evening at The Dome of America's Center in St. Louis. The Panthers handled the Defenders in the teams' singular meeting earlier this season — a 38-14 victory in Week 6. However, Michigan head coach Mike Nolan knows this time will be very different, with the 2025 title on the line. "They're a better football team, and I'd like to think we are a better football team too," Nolan said. "I think it will be a very good game. They are very explosive on offense. … We've got two really good offenses going to battle in this football game, and you've got two really good defenses as well, so I think it will be an entirely different game than the first one for all kinds of reasons. "It's a lot more meaningful, and I think their team has improved an awful lot since we played them last time. They were going through a lot of transitions with the coaching change in the middle of the season and things like that, and they were just adapting to the new things. … Right now, they're running on all cylinders. They're doing a real good job." Defenders head coach Shannon Harris recently earned UFL Coach of the Year honors for how he deftly handled the departure of former head coach Reggie Barlow and ex-defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, leading DC to a 6-4 regular-season record, a postseason berth and a spot in a spring football championship for the second time in three seasons. Harris and the Defenders throttled the St. Louis Battlehawks on their home turf last week, 38-16, in the XFL Conference title game. Their reward? Facing a Michigan squad that is peaking at just the right time after defeating the defending champion Birmingham Stallions on the road in the USFL Conference title game, 44-29, to advance. Here's a closer look at what to watch for in the 2025 UFL Championship Game. 1. How can the Panthers slow down Defenders QB Jordan Ta'amu? The engine of the Defenders' offense all season and the most impactful player in the UFL, Ta'amu will be tough to contain for a Michigan defense allowing 292 passing yards a contest — the fourth-worst mark in the regular season. Ta'amu finished first in passing touchdowns (17) and second in passing yards (2,153) during the regular season. He totaled 204 passing yards and a score in last week's win over the Battlehawks. If the Panthers want to win Saturday's title game, defensively they must limit the Defenders' explosive passing game led by Ta'amu. The Defenders have balance on offense, too. Deon Jackson ran for 110 yards and two scores on 21 carries last week. 2. How can the Defenders bottle up Michigan's running game? In the previous matchup between these two teams, the Panthers rolled up 213 yards on the ground on their way to a convincing victory at Ford Field. Toa Taua has been the catalyst for Michigan's running game. He finished the regular season sixth in the UFL with 356 yards and led the league with six rushing touchdowns. Taua kept it going in the postseason, picking up 85 rushing yards and three scores in Michigan's win over Birmingham. The Defenders have struggled to stop the run, however, allowing 118 rushing yards per contest in the regular season. They also allowed the second most rushing touchdowns (12) and the most yards per carry (4.8) in the UFL this year. 3. Who will win the turnover battle? One of the areas Michigan has struggled with this year is forcing turnovers. The Panthers finished with just 10 takeaways during the regular season — only the Memphis Showboats (2-8) had fewer during the year (five). The Defenders forced 16 turnovers and finished with a plus-5 turnover differential during the regular season, while the Panthers finished with a minus-2 turnover differential over that same span. The Panthers did win the turnover battle last week against the Stallions, however, coaxing three takeaways and losing a fumble. "In order to win a championship, you want to play a clean game," Nolan said. "It's very difficult for any team — this goes for DC or us — to win any game, especially a championship game if you're not playing a clean game." 4. Who is the X-factor for the Panthers? Quarterback Bryce Perkins, the 2025 UFL Offensive Player of the Year, finished second in passing touchdowns (nine) and completion percentage (69%) and fourth in passing yards (1,342) despite missing three games with an ankle injury. What makes Perkins difficult to contain is his ability to create chunk plays with his feet. Perkins finished with 269 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns for the Panthers during the regular season. Only the Battlehawks' Max Duggan rushed for more yards as a quarterback (299). Perkins rushed for 34 yards and a score last week. How the Defenders attack Perkins and his ability to run the ball will go a long way in deciding this game's outcome. 5. Who are the X-factors for the Defenders? The Defenders led the UFL in tackles for loss (59) and finished third with 22.0 sacks. One of the reasons for their success defensively has been the one-two pass-rushing punch of defensive ends Derek Roberson and Andre Mintz. The Defenders were the only team in the UFL with two players who finished with at least five sacks. Both Roberson and Mintze totaled 5.5 sacks each, while All-UFL performer defensive tackle Joe Wallace finished second in the league in tackles for loss (10) and totaled 4.5 sacks. The Defenders' front seven has the tough task of slowing down Michigan's running game and putting consistent pressure on Perkins in the passing game if they want to wear the crown this year. Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him at @eric_d_williams . Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily ! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience United Football League DC Defenders Michigan Panthers recommended Get more from United Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Irish Daily Mirror
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Bucks Fizz star Cheryl Baker shares 'tense moment' Mike Nolan quit the band
Bucks Fizz star Cheryl Baker has revealed the tense moment Irish man Mike Nolan quit the band. The 1981 Eurovision winner has spoken of the moment her former band member Mike Nolan quit spin-off band 'The Fizz' in a difficult exchange back in 2024. Speaking in a new interview with Slingo, Cheryl who was part of 1981 Eurovision-winning group 'Bucks Fizz', admits Mike 'had been talking about [quitting] since lockdown' but she managed to 'keep talking him out of it'. However, she said the final straw for Mike came during a 2024 photoshoot, when he revealed to Cheryl and fellow member Jay Aston he didn't want to do any of their upcoming gigs. She said: '[The Fizz] have just finished working on a ship, we did an 80s cruise and we had so much fun. 'We've got a festival in a couple of weeks up in Sunderland and I can't wait. We're rehearsing some songs they haven't learnt yet, for them, they're still learning stuff. 'We've got two guys now who are very happy to be there, whereas Mike didn't want to be there. He'd had enough. 'He'd been talking about it since lockdown. I kept talking him out of it but in the end, we did a photo session for a newspaper and it was a really good session, we did the photos, interviews etc. 'We then went to have some lunch, and me and Jay were chatting about gigs we had coming up, and Mike's face just went (sighs), he looked upset. I went, whatever's the matter.' Cheryl recalls giving him an ultimatum on his future in the band, which led to Mike leaving, but not before a 'very special' last gig in November last year. 'He said, 'I don't want to do them!' I slammed my fists down on the table and said,' you can't keep playing like this, you're either staying or you're going', so he said, 'I want to go'. We had to make a final date which was in November last year, we did it in a small theatre, a 500-seater, but it was a favourite in Kent, we all live there. 'It was a very special night with all our families and friends there, but I think he was relieved it was the last one. 'I miss Mike Nolan, because he's like a brother to me but he'd really had enough. Scott Mills kept playing, audio of Mike saying 'I've had enough', and he had. 'He was fed up with the journeys, with the driving and trains. I talk to him every couple of days, and we check in with each other. 'He's not envious in the slightest, he's very happy with us to carry on working.' But she said she still talks to Mike every few days. 'We have the best memories! And the most fun. Mike and I were like naughty children, going back to sneaking back in Dublin, we have a lot of fantastic memories, Mike and I. 'But we're making new memories with our new guys, they're so much fun, I love them.'
Irish Daily Mirror
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Bucks Fizz star risked getting kidnapped by the IRA during Eurovision
Bucks Fizz star Cheryl Baker has revealed she risked being kidnapped while in Dublin during the Eurovision Song Contest. In 1981, the UK were crowned winners of the song contest, which was hosted at the RDS, with their song, Making Your Mind Up. But Cheryl has now revealed the 'stupid move' she and her co-star Mike Nolan made hours before taking the win. In a new interview with Slingo, the singer shares how she and her bandmate Mike Nolan snuck out despite being under strict orders to stay in their hotel rooms as the song contest was under threat from the IRA. She told Slingo: 'The event was threatened by the IRA, as was the British contingent, that's why we were kept separate. We had armed guards for each of us. 'Outside our hotel rooms and when we travelled, we travelled in a coach, just us, no other countries. 'We had outriders, I felt like royalty! You don't think of the danger, you think of excitement. We were going on the wrong side of the road, through red lights, it made you feel special. 'We were in Dublin for a few days, and we had a few hours to spare so Mike, who is from Dublin, said to me, 'should we go shopping?' I said, 'no, we can't, we've been told to stay in our rooms'. 'He said, 'let's sneak out', so we did. I can't remember how we did it, but we sneaked out of the hotel, and went shopping. 'I can remember the dress I bought, walking along the streets of Dublin with Mike feeling really free, but we were stupid, really stupid, we had a price on our heads at the time. 'It was the excitement and the freedom at the time. When we got back, we got such a telling off from our people, our record label and everything, but especially by the Irish police who were looking after us. 'The discovery we'd disappeared, we might have been kidnapped! They didn't know, we were so silly, you're stupid like that when you're young, that was a bit naughty, I have to admit to that.' Cheryl revealed how Bucks Fizz had to return back to their hotel room hours after winning because of the security threat. 'It's weird, after we won, we went back to our hotel, we had a different hotel from all the other contingents because of the IRA, they were very active in those days and they had threatened to disrupt the competition, so they kept us in a completely separate hotel, none of the other countries were there. 'They were all staying in another hotel, and it must have been fun for them. They could all go to the bar and have a bit of a party, whereas we were on our own with our record label and production company. 'They cracked open the champagne and the orange juice obviously, so I went to my room in the hotel and rang home. 'Home for me at the time was a council flat in Bethnal Green. I rang and my sister answered the phone, my real name's Rita, and there were cheers everywhere, music playing in the background and immediately, my eyes filled with tears, and I just thought, I want to be there. 'My sister said, oh Reets, you should have seen it, I get upset talking about it! I was born in that block of flats, there were three blocks of flats, and people then, if they lived there, they lived their most of their lives, so everyone knew me. 'I was like their friend, their daughter, and so when we won, people came out, I'm getting tearful! People came out on the balconies, threw open their windows, it was so moving. I just thought, I want to be there, I want to be back home. 'We flew home the next day, to Heathrow, came home to the arrivals lounge and everyone was there, my family, my friends, they'd made banners, the music was playing and I fell to my knees and cried and my dad forced his way through and took me in his arms and gave me the fatherly hug I needed at the time. It was strange, it really affected me and made me very emotional.' Cheryl says life for them changed 'immediately'. 'It changed for us immediately, after the show had come down, we were all ushered into an area where there was a stage, we stood on the stage and we were completely surrounded by paparazzi, film cameras, photographers, everyone was standing round and calling us. 'I thought, blimey, my life's just changed. We went from being nobody to being everyone worldwide wanted a piece of us, it was crazy. It was absolutely crazy and our lives changed so dramatically because of it.'
Fox Sports
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Five things to watch for in Week 9 of the 2025 UFL season
The St. Louis Battlehawks (6-2) get a test run at The Dome at America's Center this weekend to kick off Week 9 of the UFL season when they host the San Antonio Brahmas (1-7) on Friday (8 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). Friday's contest is the last home game of the regular season for the Battlehawks, who are a league-best 4-1 at home this year, averaging nearly 30,000 fans a game. The UFL announced that St. Louis will host the DC Defenders (6-2) in the XFL Conference title game on June 8 regardless of how the two teams finish the final two games of the season. The Battlehawks and the Defenders are tied for the top spot in the XFL Conference and will meet in Washington, D.C. on May 30 in the final game of the regular season. St. Louis will also host the UFL title game on June 14. "It's a blessing," Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht said, when asked about his team's home-field advantage. "It's a blessing to play in a place that's loud, and on third down it's hard for the other team. I wish we could play all 10 (games) here. That would be awesome, and they would show up every week. "We are very fortunate to have a fan base like this here, and we don't take it for granted ever because we know how important it is." [MORE: What is the UFL? Everything to know about the 2025 United Football League ] Elsewhere, the Memphis Showboats (2-6) host the Arlington Renegades (3-5) on Saturday (noon ET), followed by the Michigan Panthers (6-2) hitting the road to face the Birmingham Stallions (5-3) at Protective Stadium (3 p.m. ET). In the weekend's finale, the Houston Roughnecks (3-5) host the Defenders on Sunday (4 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). Here's a closer look at five things to watch for in Week 9: 1. Stallions vs. Panthers offers USFL Conference title preview With Birmingham hosting Michigan in the first round of the playoffs in a few weeks, both teams will keep things simple and look to rest key players with the hopes of entering the postseason as healthy as possible. The Panthers already started doing that last week, as head coach Mike Nolan did not play star quarterback Bryce Perkins in his team's win over the Roughnecks because of a lingering ankle injury. Perkins also missed practice this week due to the injury, so Michigan signed quarterback Colby Suits to add depth to the position group. "The biggest decision will be how healthy our roster is and what we need to do, but we won't know that probably until the middle of the week," Nolan said. "That's probably the most important thing, because we want to be healthy going into the playoffs. So, we'll see how that goes. I know that there's a little rivalry going on between us and Birmingham, so I know everybody will want to play, but we'll see." Birmingham defeated the Panthers earlier this season in Week 2 in Detroit, 21-12. The Stallions are undefeated (6-0) against the Panthers dating back to the return of the legacy USFL in 2022. "Once you get in, anybody can win it," said Birmingham head coach Skip Holtz, whose Stallions have reached the postseason for a fourth straight year. "We've got to keep growing." Starting quarterback Alex McGough, who went on IR earlier this year with a right shoulder injury, was a limited participant in practice this week and could be healthy enough to return to the field this weekend. 2. DE Breeland Speaks returns for Panthers The reigning UFL Defensive Player of the Year, Speaks returned to the team's active roster after being placed on IR for six weeks with a left pectoral injury. Speaks led the league with 9.5 sacks last year but had six combined tackles and no sacks through two games played this season prior to his injury. With the Panthers already clinching a spot in the postseason, returning to the field this weekend gives Speaks a few weeks to knock the rust off. The Panthers are sixth in the UFL in sacks with 13 on the season and have just seven takeaways this year. 3. QB Kellen Mond returns as Brahmas' starter Benched for three games in favor of Kevin Hogan, Mond returns to the starting job as San Antonio hits the road this weekend. A San Antonio native and Texas A&M product, Mond started the first five games of the season, completing 57% of his passes for 597 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was sacked 10 times, posting a 69.1 passer rating and going 1-4 as a starter. Mond replaces Hogan, who is out this week due to an injury to his throwing hand. The Brahmas signed Alan Bowman to serve as the team's third-stringer this week. 4. Battlehawks bring back QB Chevan Cordiero St. Louis lost starting quarterback Manny Wilkins for the year with an Achilles tendon tear but get back some depth at the position with the return of Cordiero, who started the season as the third-string QB for St. Louis before landing on IR with a hamstring issue. Cordiero didn't appear in any games this season prior to the injury and joins a quarterback room that includes starter Max Duggan and backup Brandon Silvers. To make room for Cordiero, St. Louis released QB Trae Self. In another roster move, the Showboats released running back Wes Hills this week. 5. Defenders WR Cornell Powell shines Powell is the new league leader in touchdown receptions with two weeks left in the regular season. The 27-year-old Clemson product tops the UFL with five touchdown receptions on the season. Powell totaled four receptions for 59 yards and two touchdowns on eight targets in the Defenders' win over the Renegades last week. He has 21 receptions for 314 yards and five scores on 44 targets so far this season. Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him at @eric_d_williams . Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily ! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience United Football League recommended Get more from United Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
