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BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Ticker) -- It is said in Alabama that there are two sports -- football and spring football. Add a winter variety to the mix when the Birmingham Bolts host the Memphis Maniax on Sunday afternoon in the XFL opener for both teams. The Bolts are hoping the addition of Jay Barker, who helped Alabama win a national championship in 1992 and had a 34-2-1 record as a collegiate quarterback, will help generate some interest for the fledging league. But Barker was signed late and begins the season as the backup behind Casey Weldon of Florida State. The running backs are familiar with 74-year-old Legion Field, the home of the Bolts which has been upgraded thanks to an infusion of cash from the XFL. Curtis Alexander played for Alabama and James Bostic was a star at Auburn. The XFL is a chance at redemption for Birmingham's Gerry DiNardo, who was fired as coach at LSU in 1998 after almost four seasons on the job. The league is also a new lease on life for running back Rashaan Salaam, the 1994 Heisman Trophy winner who is expected to be the center of the Memphis offense. Jim Druckenmiller, a first round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 1997, and former East Carolina quarterback Marcus Crandell are the quarterbacks. The coach of the Maniax is Kippy Brown, a one-time quarterback for Memphis State who most recently served as running backs coach of the Green Bay Packers.
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