The United Football League regular season ended Monday much as it began – with a truncated schedule – when officials said the final two weeks of games had been canceled.

Virginia and Las Vegas, both 3-1, will play Friday for the UFL title.

The Mountain Lions play at 5 p.m. Friday at Omaha. The 1-3 teams were to have met Oct. 28. Friday's game is being called a "consolation game" by the UFL.

The four teams in the struggling league, which in August delayed the start of the season by one month, played just four games each. But Mountain Lions owner Paul Pelosi insisted the decision was not a desperate move, saying that avoiding an extra week of costs will slow the flow of red ink and get the league back on track.

"The bottom line is we looked at the financial picture, and cutting the season back actually puts us in a stronger position for 2012," Pelosi said. "Look, we really got socked by the NFL (lockout). We lost out on a possible TV deal, we lost advertisers. If we do one more game, that's just more money lost.

"I didn't want to (play Omaha) because now we have to charter a plane and put the team up in a hotel, which just adds to the expenses. But by doing so, the game gives the players another paycheck and another game of film for NFL scouts, plus Omaha gets its third home game."

The Mountain Lions, who defeated Virginia 27-20 in overtime Saturday at Hornet Stadium, reported a league-best average attendance of 18,781 for their three home games, an increase of about 500 over last season, but Pelosi said professional leagues rely more on TV contracts than gate receipts.

Pelosi said he will join Las Vegas owner Bill Hambrecht and former NFL head coach Jerry Glanville on a tour of cities, trying to add at least two franchises for 2012. Pelosi cited Portland, Ore., Salt Lake City, Chattanooga, Tenn., and Austin, Texas, last week as ideal expansion locations.

Glanville had been hired to coach Hartford this season, but when the UFL folded that franchise, Glanville became a league consultant. He said the league's latest action is no different than what it did with Hartford.

"They did what they had to do to survive," he said.

Glanville said he has been in contact with three potential investors, but he declined to name them or the cities in which they might be involved. He did say Des Moines, Iowa, and Jackson, Miss., have expressed interest.

"It takes TV contracts (for a league to survive), and you need a minimum of six to eight teams to attract that contract and continue to survive," Glanville said.

Mountain Lions running back Cory Ross said he appreciates that he and his teammates will play one more game this season, giving them more film to send to the NFL in hopes of signing with a team for this season.

The NFL signed 41 players from UFL squads last season, and four played in Super Bowl XLV.

"My first thought was that we still had a chance to get into the championship game if we could beat Las Vegas and Omaha down the stretch by more points than they beat us the first two games," Ross said. "As players we don't know much about the financials, but I'd tell Mountain Lions fans to be patient and be excited about the 2012 season because I do think there will be a 2012."

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Mark Billingsley covers the Mountain Lions for The Bee. Reach him at editorwriter@att.net.

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