The final score didn’t seem to matter, even though Dennis Green’s California Redwoods beat Ted Cotrell’s Sentinels, 20-13. More importantly this league seems to be doing it the right way and has a chance to succeed.

Unlike past upstart football leagues, the UFL wants to be a complimentary unit to the NFL. Much like the way the Atlantic League works outside of affiliated baseball, but draws some name players, this league is setting itself up to be a place where players can continue their careers. Some may be coming back from injury while others are just looking for another chance after getting cut from an NFL club.

“We had some guys here, like Simeon Rice, who had some injuries and are just looking to come back to play,” Cotrell said. “There are a few players like that and there are players coming up that just need a chance. It’s a win-win thing. If they do well, then we do well.”

That’s what the UFL is looking for. Unlike leagues like the WFL and USFL in the past, the UFL is trying to control salaries by installing a hard cap. There are no million dollar bonuses, an outlandish contracts. Instead this is a league for development and development. At Giants Stadium today, there were NFL scouts looking for talent and if a player gets a chance, the league will probably let them go.

“The model they have set up, there’s a hard salary cap, but a wage that is still attractive to some players,” Cotrell said. “It’s still a good brand off football, but without the million dollar bonuses.”

More importantly though, the league seems to be playing it straight. Instead of reinventing the wheel here, the game is pretty much what you will see on Sundays in the NFL. They play the same rules with the same size field and there are no XFL-like gimmicks, which ruin the flow of the match.

And that seems to be a good thing. Will the UFL survive long term is anyone’s guess and they will have to get attendance up, especially after tonight’s crowd, which was far smaller than the 10,318 announced crowd.

But the games are on television and the league is making changes as it goes along, like next week’s game which was originally scheduled for Citi Field will now be played at Hofstra in order to play in a more intimate environment, with the hope that the college crowd will come out to see some professional football.

It’s also good to see coaches like Cotrell, Green, and former Giants coach Jim Fassel getting second chances as well. But this is a league of second chances and even though the first game in the area could have been better, the UFL seems to be learning and for that reason alone, the league has a chance to survive.

With names such as LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and Joe Johnson becoming available, GM’s are salivating at the prospect of one or more than these players inking long-term deals with their respective clubs. There is no doubt that Knicks team president Donnie Walsh has a plan in place, but that doesn’t mean that he and head coach Mike D’Antoni are not viewing this season as a vital one. In fact, D’Antoni has stated that his goal is to win 40 games and feels that number would be sufficient to secure a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

They may not be going into the schedule with a fully loaded roster, but the Knicks will play hard and get the most out of a group that includes many expiring contracts. The fans at Madison Square Garden may not have a lot to cheer for but they certainly will not get cheated with half-hearted efforts that became commonplace during the end of the Isiah Thomas era.

GUARDS (2008-09 stats)

*CHRIS DUHON (79 games, 11.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 7.2 APG) – The former Chicago Bull seemed at times to be totally out of gas and averaged 36.8 minutes per game. Because of the shortage of players in the backcourt, he had to suck it up and stay in there. A good soldier and serviceable player.

*WILSON CHANDLER (82 games, 14.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.1 APG) – The swingman out of DePaul is entering his third year in the league and became an integral part of the line-up last season. He will see minutes at both shooting guard and small forward.

*NATE ROBINSON (74 games, 17.2 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 4.1 APG) – Last season’s Sixth Man runner up will be the first guard off the bench and will surely get some starts along the way. A big fan favorite, the generously listed 5’9” Robinson has become sort of an icon with his slam-dunk contest victories. Was re-signed as a restricted free agent in the offseason.

*LARRY HUGHES (55 games, 11.7 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.2 APG) – A 14-year veteran, Hughes came to New York during the season from Chicago and brought along with him some leadership and stability.

*TONEY DOUGLAS (35 games, 21.5 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.6 APG with Florida State) – The Knicks were very high on Douglas and traded with the Lakers on Draft Night to acquire the former Seminole, who was chosen in the first round (29^th overall) by the defending NBA champions.

FORWARDS

*AL HARRINGTON (73 games, 20.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 1.6 APG) – A pleasant surprise after he was brought in from the Warriors, Harrington has become a team leader in this young locker room. The Knicks dealt their scoring leader, Jamaal Crawford, for Harrington and he stepped into that role admirably.

*DAVID LEE (81 games, 16.0 PPG, 11.7 RPG, 2.1 APG) – Also a restricted free agent and a fan favorite, Lee deserved to be brought back like his mate Robinson. In his breakout campaign, Lee had a league-leading 65 double-doubles.

*JARED JEFFERIES (56 games, 5.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.4 APG) – The oft-injured big man will also see time at the center position. Hopefully the free agent acquisition from Washington will finally pay off after three seasons full of disappointment.

*DANILO GALLINARI (28 games, 6.1 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 0.5 APG) – Much of his rookie season was lost to injury and Gallinari had back surgery on April 7 to correct the condition. He will eventually work his way into the starting line-up but will have to add some muscle to his 6’10”, 225-pound frame to be effective in the NBA.

*JORDAN HILL (34 games, 18.3 PPG, 11.0 RPG at Arizona) – The Knicks first round pick (eighth overall) is very raw but has a big upside. The underclassman led the team in rebounding and was second in scoring. Do not expect a big contribution from Hill this year.

*MARCUS LANDRY – An undrafted free agent, the Wisconsin product will be on the bubble all season long in a frontcourt that is loaded.

CENTER

*EDDY CURRY (3 games, 1.7 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 0.0 APG) – Another wasted season for the former man-child, Curry is still only 26 with eight professional years under his wide belt. The seven-footer arrived at training camp in (for him) very good condition but still had to stay on the sideline because of various injuries. So much wasted potential for the fourth overall pick by Chicago in the 2001 draft.

*DARKO MILICIC (61 games, 5.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 0.6 APG) – Wouldn’t it be ironic if Milicic becomes a serviceable player where his former coach (and the guy who drafted him second overall six years ago) Larry Brown had the worst tenure of his illustrious career? The undersized Knicks had nothing to lose by taking a flyer on the seven-foot Serbian.

PREDICTION: The stability and continuity of the roster will give the Knicks a slight improvement in the win column, but they will fall short of the 40-win mark. D’Antoni will run an exciting offense, sans Curry, and this team will be ready to add a big name in 2010.

In moving Gomez, the Rangers clear major space on the salary cap since he is due to make $7.4 million next year, while Higgins only made$1.9 million and is a restricted free agent. Yet, general manager Glen Sather managed to get the talented Smithtown native back in the trade.

Higgins, 26, has skated in 282 regular season contests with Montreal, recording 84 goals and 67 assists for 151 points, along with 96 penalty minutes.  The 6-0, 205-pounder has eclipsed the 20-goal mark three times.  In 2007-08, he established career-highs in games played (82), goals (27), assists (25), points (52), power play goals (12), game-winning goals (five), and shots (241).  He led Montreal in shots, tied for second on the team in power play goals and game-winning goals, and ranked third in goals.  He was also one of only three Canadiens to skate in all 82 games during the season.  Higgins registered 11 points (six goals and five assists) in the first 13 games of the season, and went on to surpass the 20-goal plateau for the third straight year.

And the Rangers shed Gomez, whose contract was becoming an albatross. After signing back in 2007, the former New Jersey Devil was supposed to the answer for Jaromir Jagr, but never could jell with the Hall of Fame right wing. He bounced around looking for the right combination, but it never seemed to work like it did back in New Jersey.

He now becomes the latest ex-New Jersey Devil to become a Rangers’ failure.

The move also signals a busy day tomorrow for Sather as free agency opens. Now with cap space, Sather will look for a sniper, while also remolding the team in Tortorella’s image.

Erik Reitz becomes the newest Ranger.

Tom Renney has been looking for some roster flexibility. Now he has it.

Two days after the Rangers waived extra forward Dan Fritche, Rangers general manager Glen Sather shipped the Ohio native to Minnesota for defenseman Erik Reitz.

The 26 year-old  has appeared in 31 games with Minnesota this season, registering one goal and one assist for two points, along with 41 penalty minutes.  He was tied for fourth among Minnesota defensemen in goals (one), and tied for third on the club overall in penalty minutes (41).  Reitz also ranked second on the Wild with 58 hits.  He notched his first NHL point with a goal on November 15 vs. Columbus.  He also tallied his first career assist on November 22 vs. St. Louis.

With Reitz on the roster, Renney will have his seventh defenseman, which will allow him to give his backliners a rest. This is something he was mentioning in the last week as the Ranger schedule heats up down the stretch.

And Fritche was not getting any playing time. Passing through waivers yesterday, the 22 year-old only appeared in 13 games this season, registering one goal with three assists.  He was acquired over the summer in the same deal that brought Nikolai Zherdev to Broadway.

The move will also save the Rangers approximately $162,000 on the salary cap this season.