Nfl Football - Football Betting

2005-11-07T12:54:00.000-08:00

Bears edge reeling Saints to win fourth straight

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- The Chicago Bears showed off the depth of their running attack and strengthened their credentials as a serious playoff contender. --football gambling--

The New Orleans Saints knocked starter Thomas Jones from the game in the first half, only to watch Adrian Peterson and Cedric Benson combine for 137 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries in the Bears' 20-17 victory Sunday. --football gambling--

"We get off the plane running the ball," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "Cedric Benson, Thomas Jones, Adrian Peterson all did a good job ... What can I say about the offensive line I haven't said?" --football gambling--

Robbie Gould made the winning field goal with 6 seconds to go from 28 yards. Kyle Orton set up the clincher with a 22-yard, third-down completion on a sideline route to Muhsin Muhammad at the 10-yard line. That allowed Chicago (5-3) to run the clock down to 10 seconds before lining up for the winning kick. --football gambling--

Saints owner Tom Benson stayed away from Baton Rouge as promised after complaining that security was inadequate to protect him from angry fans. A number of fans stayed away, too. The crowd was announced at 32,637, dwarfed by LSU's 93,000-seat Tiger Stadium. The no-shows were probably glad they didn't come as the Saints (2-7) lost their fifth straight despite playing well in stints. --football gambling--

Chicago, meanwhile, won its fourth straight for the first time since 2001-02, the last time the Bears were playoff bound. Peterson gave the Bears a 17-10 lead in the third quarter on a 6-yard carry after he had run for a slashing 36-yard gain one play earlier. He finished with 58 yards on six carries.--football gambling--

Benson had 79 yards on 14 carries, including a 27-yarder during the Bears' final drive, which began on the Chicago 25 and ate up 4:02. "I never thought there was that much space in the NFL, but there was a lot of it," said Benson, a rookie out of Texas. "It says a lot more for our offensive line. Those guys are consistent, snap after snap. You could say anybody could look good behind those guys."--football gambling--

Orton was 12-of-26 for 137 yards and a touchdown and was intercepted twice. But the Bears ran for 183 yards, with Jones gaining 40 yards on 11 carries before leaving with bruised ribs.Antowain Smith had 110 yards on 17 carries for the Saints, while Aaron Brooks was 16-of-26 for 170 yards and a touchdown. He threw two interceptions, the second on a desperate heave as time expired.--football gambling--

Although the Saints ran well, they came up short on third-and-1 with under five minutes left, setting up the Bears' decisive drive. "We just cannot seem to get that one little play here and there that gives you a better chance of winning at the end," offensive tackle Wayne Gandy said. "You'd hope you could take that ball with four minutes to go and get a field goal. We created that third-and-one. It wasn't successful." --football gambling--

The Saints' first two possessions got them to or inside the Chicago 20, but they only came away with John Carney's 21-yard field goal, set up by Smith's 42-yard run on their opening drive."We talked all week about how we kick field goals instead of scoring touchdowns and we came out and did the same thing," said Saints coach Jim Haslett, who has never been this far below .500 in six seasons as a head coach. --football gambling--

The second drive began on the Chicago 35 after Fred Thomas' interception of a tipped pass.However, running back Aaron Stecker fumbled on the Chicago 15 and Chris Harris returned it to the New Orleans 38. That was the first of three New Orleans drives that started in Chicago territory after turnovers, none of which yielded points.--football gambling--

The Bears have made a habit of converting turnovers into points lately, and did so seven plays after Harris' fumble return. Orton drilled a 4-yard slant pass to Justin Gage for a 7-3 lead.New Orleans jumped back ahead 10-7 on a 14-play, 95-yard drive that ended when Brooks hit Donte' Stallworth on a crossing route for a 15-yard score. It was the Saints' first touchdown in more than eight quarters. --football gambling--

Against a Chicago defense that entered the game allowing an average of fewer than 85 yards rushing, the Saints' resurgent ground game surpassed 100 yards by the second quarter.But Harris' sack on a safety blitz helped Chicago get the ball back with just under two minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Bears then drove from their 31 to the Saints 17, setting up Gould's 35-yard field goal to tie the game at 10 with 22 seconds left in the half.--football gambling--

Game notesGage started for Mark Bradley (knee), who was placed on injured reserve last week. ... Saints TE Ernie Conwell (knee) did not play. Zach Hilton started in his place and dropped potential touchdown pass on New Orleans' first drive. ... Orton's interception was his first in 63 attempts.--football gambling--

2005-11-02T06:34:00.000-08:00

Bradley out for rest of season with torn ACL

October 31, 2005
By Larry Mayer

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Sunday's pivotal overtime win in Detroit came with a price as the Bears lost Mark Bradley for the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his right knee. -NFL Football-

The promising rookie receiver was injured without being touched when he turned up field on a 13-yard reception. Bradley grasped his knee in pain after sliding out of bounds and was carted to the locker room with 4:10 left in the second quarter of the Bears' 19-13 victory. -NFL Football-

Bradley exited after catching a career-high five passes for 88 yards including a 54-yarder from fellow rookie Kyle Orton that stands as the Bears' longest play from scrimmage this season. -NFL Football-

"It's a tough break for Mark," said coach Lovie Smith. "He was having a super game; it was his coming out party you could say. But he'll get back and hopefully come back strong next year." -NFL Football-

The second-round draft pick from Oklahoma finishes his first NFL season with 18 receptions for 230 yards, second in both categories on the Bears to All-Pro Muhsin Muhammad (34-386). -NFL Football-

"You have a player that's really coming into his own," Smith said. "He has a great future ahead of him. It's a setback for him, but he'll come back from it. It's hard when you see a young player go down like that, but that's the hand that's been dealt, so we'll just kind of go from there." -NFL Football-

With Bradley out, Justin Gage is expected to regain the starting job he held the first three games of the season. But with Bernard Berrian also sidelined following thumb surgery, the onus to replace Bradley will be shared by Gage (4-78), Bobby Wade (6-53) and Carl Ford (0-0), a trio that has combined to catch just 10 passes for 131 yards in seven games. -NFL Football-

"We have other receivers that have played this year for us and it's time for all of them to step up," Smith said. "It's an opportunity. When one person goes down, there's an opportunity for someone else to step up and I think that we've got a few guys that can do that." -NFL Football-

Inactive a week earlier against the Ravens, Gage replaced Berrian on the roster Sunday and caught two passes for 47 yards after Bradley was injured. The 2003 fifth-round pick also dropped a key third down pass that would have given the Bears a first down. -NFL Football-

"I thought Justin Gage played well (Sunday) when he had his opportunity and he'll only get better," Smith said. -NFL Football-

Rookie receiver Airese Currie, a fifth-round draft pick, could practice for the first time this week since undergoing foot surgery in March. But that won't preclude the Bears from possibly acquiring a player to fill the void created by the injuries to Bradley and Berrian. -NFL Football-

"We're going to keep all options open right now," Smith said. "Airese Currie is an option that we have. As we do any time we need (to bolster) any position, we'll look at everything that's available. But we have a good football player right here in Airese Currie." -NFL Football-

In other news Monday, Smith said the bruised ribs that forced Thomas Jones to exit Sunday's game in the fourth quarter are "nothing serious" and the running back "should be OK." -NFL Football-

2005-10-26T13:54:00.000-07:00

When it comes to the Bills-Pats rivalry, there's some history there

By Glen Farley, ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER

FOXBORO — Their founders formed 25 percent of "The Foolish Club," two members of the gang of eight that decided to form a circuit to challenge the pro football establishment known as the National Football League. -NFL Football-

In fact, on July 30, 1960, Billy Sullivan's Boston Patriots and Ralph Wilson's Bills christened the fledgling American Football League by meeting in the league's first preseason game at Buffalo's old War Memorial Stadium. -NFL Football-

More than 45 years later, the Patriots — now Bob Kraft's New England Patriots — will meet Wilson's Bills (some things never change) in a battle for first place in the AFC East at Gillette Stadium. -NFL Football-

"It's a division game," Patriots wide receiver Troy Brown said of Sunday night's nationally telecast ESPN game. "For whatever the reason, it seems whenever they come in here they play us tough." -NFL Football-

This weekend's game will mark the 91st regular-season/postseason game between the two teams with Boston/New England holding an advantage of 49-40-1 in a series that has seen them outscore the Bills, 1,808-1,688. -NFL Football-

That's a point differential of 120 points over 90 games — a mere 1.33 points per game. -NFL Football-

The 49 wins over the Bills represent a franchise record for the Patriots. The Pats have met the New York Titans/New York Jets 90 times, trailing in that series, 42-47-1. -NFL Football-

Let the record show that the Patriots won that first AFL exhibition game, 28-7, in front of a Saturday night crowd of approximately 16,000 fans in Buffalo. -NFL Football-

A Friday night parade to welcome the two teams on the eve of the AFL kickoff was said to have drawn 100,000, but the price was right: It was free. -NFL Football-

The Patriots paid the price when they met for the first time that really mattered. With 20,732 fans on hand at Boston University Field on Sept. 23, 1960, the Lou Saban-coached Patriots turned the ball over seven times en route to a 13-0 loss to the Buster Ramsey-coached Bills. -NFL Football-

The first postseason game in the history of each team? -NFL Football-

The Patriots' 26-8 win over the Bills in the 1963 AFL Eastern Division playoff game at War Memorial that sent them on to that year's AFL Championship Game, where they were unceremoniously dismissed by the Chargers, 51-10, at San Diego's Balboa Stadium. -NFL Football-

With a crowd of 33,044 in attendance and an inch of snow covering the field, the Patriots punched their ticket to San Diego by holding Cookie Gilchrist and friends to 7 yards on 12 attempts, which, to this day, stands as the lowest rushing total in the Bills' playoff history. -NFL Football-

Babe Parilli threw for 292 yards, twice finding running back Larry Garron for touchdowns, and Gino Cappelletti (who also caught four passes for 109 yards in the game) booted four field goals in five attempts, which, to this day, stand as Patriots playoff records (since equaled by Tony Franklin). -NFL Football-

While they've never met again in the postseason, more than 37 years before they closed Foxboro Stadium with a 16-13 overtime win over the Oakland Raiders in an AFC playoff game that shall forever be known as the "Snow Bowl," the Patriots and Bills staged one of their own to close out the regular season. -NFL Football-

A sellout crowd of 38,021 filled Fenway Park on Dec. 20, 1964, and sat through a 45-minute snow delay as the field was cleared. -NFL Football-

By the end of the day, the hometown team was buried, not by snow but by Bills, as future Congressman and vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp scored two touchdowns and threw to Elbert "Golden Wheels" Dubenion for another in a 24-14 win that gave Buffalo a record of 12-2-0, the division over the 10-3-1 Patriots, and a spot in the AFL Championship Game, which they won, 20-7, over the Chargers. -NFL Football-

Fired by the Patriots and replaced by Mike Holovak following a 2-3 start to the 1961 campaign, the win marked a measure of revenge for Saban, who had moved on to Buffalo and lost four of six games to his old team. -NFL Football-

According to the book, "The New England Patriots: A Pictorial History," Saban proclaimed the win in Boston "the greatest victory I ever had" and added "there will never be another victory like this one." -NFL Football-

Has anyone ever run against the Patriots like O.J. Simpson once did? -NFL Football-

Long before he hopped in a white Bronco and led police on a chase, the Hall of Fame-bound back ran away from the Pats. -NFL Football-

En route to becoming the first player in NFL history to eclipse 2,000 yards rushing in a season, Simpson, who finished with 2,003 yards back in the days of the 14-game campaign, ran free for 469 yards in a season sweep of the Patriots in 1973 (250 in a season-opening 31-13 romp at Schaefer Stadium on Sept. 15; 219 in a 37-13 romp at Rich Stadium in the next-to-last game of the season on Dec. 9). -NFL Football-

That was the Bills' fifth straight win in a run of nine straight victories over the Patriots. -NFL Football-

Two wins over the Bills in 1976 snapped that streak and helped the Patriots end a 13-year drought between postseason berths. David Posey's 21-yard field goal with eight seconds to play gave the Pats a 26-24 win over the Bills on Dec. 10, 1978, at Schaefer, earning Chuck Fairbanks' troops their second playoff berth in three years before the coach took the money and ran to the University of Colorado. -NFL Football-

The Eighties were marked by a streak of 11 straight Patriots wins from the regular-season finale under Ron Meyer in the strike-shortened 1982 campaign through the next-to-last game of the 1987 season under Raymond Berry when Reggie Dupard burst 36 yards for the team's longest TD run from scrimmage that year, part of a 13-7 New England win on Dec. 20 at Sullivan Stadium. -NFL Football-

Marv Levy's four-time AFC champion reversed that trend, ripping off 11 wins in 13 games in games spanning from September of 1988 through September of 1994 when the Bills claimed a wild 38-35 win at Foxboro Stadium in a Sept. 11 game that saw the two teams combine to pile up 933 yards of total offense as Drew Bledsoe and Jim Kelly combined to put up 708 yards and seven TDs passing while hoisting up five interceptions between them. -NFL Football-

More recently, Buffalo has become a home for wayward Patriots who were once big-name players in these parts. -NFL Football-

After losing his job to Tom Brady in New England's 2001 Super Bowl championship season, Bledsoe was traded to the Bills in 2002, but he remained under Bill Belichick's thumb in going 1-5 against his old team before being released and reuniting with his first coach with the Patriots, Bill Parcells, in Dallas. -NFL Football-

Released in a salary cap move on Sept. 2, 2003, strong safety Lawyer Milloy was signed by the Bills and played a role in their 31-0 season-opening rout of the Patriots only five days later, but he's come up empty handed since then while his former teammates have slipped two more Super Bowl rings on their fingers. -NFL Football-

Where the Patriots are concerned, it's been payback for the Bills since that 31-point embarrassment on Opening Day 2003 as they've uncharacteristically won the last three games in the series with ease, a running score of 91-23. -NFL Football-

Prior to all that, the two teams went through a five-game stretch from December of 1999 through December of 2001 that saw four go into overtime. -NFL Football-

That span concluded with a 12-9 Patriots win at Ralph Wilson Stadium on Dec. 16, 2001, that ended with running back Antowain Smith breaking free for 38 yards to help set up Adam Vinatieri's fourth field goal of the day, a game-deciding 23-yarder. -NFL Football-

2005-10-19T19:05:00.000-07:00

2005
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning set the NFL single-season record with 49 touchdown passes, January 2.
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The New England Patriots became the second team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in four seasons by defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 in Super Bowl XXXIX at ALLTEL Stadium in Jacksonville. The game was witnessed by 133.7 million viewers, making Super Bowl XXXIX the fifth-most watched program in U.S. television history, February 6. ---NFL---
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The NFL announced that, for the first time in its 86-year history, the league would play a regular-season game outside the United States on October 2 in Mexico City between the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers, March 21. ---NFL---
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The NFL set an all-time paid attendance record in 2004 for the third consecutive year with a mark of 21,708,624. Regular- season paid attendance increased to 17,000,811, the first time the NFL reached the 17-million mark. Average paid attendance of 66,409 was also an all-time high, March 21.
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The Pat Tillman USO Center opened in Afghanistan. The NFL donated $250,000 to the USO to honor the memory of the former Arizona Cardinals player who died in Afghanistan while serving in the U.S. Army, April 1.
The NFL reached long-term agreements for its Sunday and Monday primetime TV packages.---NFL---
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NBC returned to the NFL by acquiring the Sunday night package for six years (2006- 2011). ESPN agreed on an eight-year deal to televise Monday Night Football from 2006-2013, April 18. ---NFL---
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The NFL strengthened its steroids program by adopting the Olympic testosterone testing standard, tripling the number of times a player can be randomly tested during the offseason from two to six, adding substances to the list of banned substances, and putting new language in the policy to allow for testing of designer drugs and other substances that may have evaded detection, April 27. ---NFL---
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NFL owners voted unanimously to approve the purchase of the Minnesota Vikings to real-estate developer Zygmunt Wilf, May 25.
NFL owners awarded Super Bowl XLIII, to be played on February 1, 2009 to Tampa, May 25. ---NFL---
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2005-10-10T14:26:00.000-07:00

Barber inadvertently punches official

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (Oct. 9, 2005) -- Tampa Bay cornerback Ronde Barber inadvertently punched umpire Butch Hannah in the eye when he swung at New York Jets center Kevin Mawae during an altercation in the second quarter of their game. - NFL Football -

After the Jets got the ball on the Buccaneers 8 on Ty Law 's second interception of the season, Curtis Martin rushed for 3 yards. After the play, Mawae and Barber got into it. While the two were yelling at each other, Barber took a swing at Mawae with his right hand -- but missed and landed a punch to Hannah's right eye. Hannah was sent sprawling to the field, holding his face, but he got up quickly. - NFL Football -

Hannah appeared to be OK and stayed in the game, but was rubbing the eye afterward.

Barber was flagged for unnecessary roughness but not ejected, giving the Jets the ball on the 2. Martin ran it in on the next play for his first touchdown of the season, giving New York a 7-6 lead with 7:32 left in the half. - NFL Football -

2005-10-01T14:22:00.000-07:00

Mexico gets ready for football, not futbol

By Tom Weir, USA TODAY

Carlos Copernicus, a former college football player in Mexico, smiles as he says no one will care that no Mexicans are playing when the NFL holds its first regular-season game on foreign turf here Sunday. "We're not genetically made to play football, but we love it," jokes the diminutive defensive back-turned-graphics artist.

As a resident of North America's largest metropolis, Copernicus adds, "We're not going to conquer the world with weapons. We do it with the numbers of our people."

The NFL's respect for those numbers was obvious when it scheduled the Cardinals-49ers matchup for this ancient capital, where population estimates for the metropolitan area exceed 18 million. The league says its research shows there are 20 million fans of profootball in Mexico - the NFL's largest following outside the USA - plus another 25 million Mexican-Americans who count themselves as NFL fans.

And though Mexico's sports profile is that of a soccer-obsessed nation where cries of "Goooal!" constantly ring out, Mexico City earned this historic game with record attendance forNFL preseason games. A 1994 Houston-Dallas exhibition drew a still-standing NFL record 112,376 to Estadio Azteca, and two other preseason games there each drew more than 100,000.

Renovations have shrunk the capacity to 105,000 at Azteca, built for the 1968 Summer Olympics and the world's only stadium to host two soccer World Cup finals, in 1970 and 1986. The first of those tournaments saw the legendary Pele lead Brazil to a title, and the second included Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" goal for champion Argentina. Sunday's competitors are definitively less heralded as they prepare to battle the effects of Azteca's 7,200-foot elevation. San Francisco is 1-2 and coming off a 2-14 season. Arizona is 0-3 and without injured quarterback Kurt Warner.

The crowd favorite on the Arizona sideline figures to be one not in uniform - practice squad member Rolando Cantu. A guard, Cantu hopes to expand his country's NFL presence beyond the placekicking niche that has been the most prominent path for Mexicans, including Rafael Septien, Raul Allegre and Tony Zendejas.

A key factor in scheduling the game here was Arizona's willingness to give up a home date in its final season at Sun Devil Stadium, where average attendance of 37,533 last year was at least 13,000 behind every otherNFL team.

The NFL isn't selling some low-level seats here with poor sight lines, so Sunday's crowd likely won't top 85,000. At mid-week, only 65,000 tickets were sold, priced $23-$80.NFL officials, who say the payout to teams won't be affected by the gate, expect a game-day sales boom, much like the one of about 25,000 tickets for the record-setter in 1994.

"Mexicans always leave things to the end," says Fox Spanish-language broadcaster Jose-Roberto Espinosa. "I'm very confident it will be sold out. It will be something unbelievable."

Espinosa, a former college coach who had one of Mexico's top football conferences named for him, has broadcast 29 Super Bowls. He says Americans underestimate the sport's popularity south of the border. "Every time I go to the U.S., they say, 'Are you playingfootball yet?' "

The answer has been si since the late 1890s. Mining company teams helped popularize the sport and in the 1920s college play began. College games commonly drew 40,000 and more in the 1940s and '50s, but attendance waned in the mid-'60s when Mexican television began broadcasting theNFL.

Virtually all Dallas games were televised in Mexico in the late '60s and early '70s, and the Vaqueros (Cowboys) remain Mexico's most popular team, by all accounts.

But, says ESPN Deportes broadcaster Alvaro Martin, "What NFL teams don't understand is that there are fans of their team here - and I don't care if it's Jacksonville or Green Bay - and they are everywhere."

Sunday's game also will be the cornerstone of the NFL's biggest outreach to the Hispanic/Latino market.

In recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month in the USA, all NFL players will wear a Futbol Americanodecal on their helmets in this week's games. The league also will air its first Spanish-language public service announcement - with English subtitles - asNFL Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz and Kansas City All-Pro tight end Tony Gonzalez encourage children to play football.

"The NFL clearly is making an investment in this because we believe it's the right thing to do," says NFL COO Roger Goodell.

Says San Francisco safety Tony Parrish, who made a summer trip to Mexico to promote the game: "We feel this is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Tough to break through

Alejandro Morales is the founder and director of Salon de la Fama del Futbol Americano de Mexico, or Mexico's Hall of Fame for American Football. A review of his 1959-64 football career at National Autonomous University of Mexico, one of Mexico City's oldest teams, provides a quick understanding of why the Mexican college system is still waiting to see its first player get in anNFL game.

2005-09-14T15:18:00.000-07:00

Favre's hometown offers fans comfort after storm

NFL.com wire reports

KILN, Miss. (Sept. 11, 2005) -- For a few hours at least, it looked like a normal Sunday at the Broke Spoke: the bar loud and smoky, the beers cold, the Packers on TV.

In this southern Mississippi town where Brett Favre grew up, Green Bay's season opener is always a big event. Then came Hurricane Katrina, which left many in this community of just over 2,000 homeless and out of work -- and put the season-opening ritual in jeopardy.

But Katrina spared The Broke Spoke, a raucous joint where customers sign the bar and women staple their bras to the ceiling. - NFL Football -

"We were all surprised that the bar made it," said Tim Johnson, 52, who is living in a tent in his back yard. "But it did, and even if we had to bring generators to keep the beer cold, we knew we were good to go."

Many Packers fans made the journey to The Broke Spoke, located nine miles from the coast, simply on faith. - NFL Football -

"I knew no matter what, there'd be food and football on Sunday," said Radley Ladner, a Kiln native who had been living in New Orleans.

Favre is huge in Kiln (even when the Packers lose, as they did to Detroit, 17-3).

"It's that and moonshine," Ladner said.

The Broke Spoke knows something about survival during tough times -- in 1999, when an air conditioner caught fire and gutted the building, owner Steve Haas promptly taped milk cartons together and made bar stools for his customers to drink outside.

The bar never closed. - NFL Football -

It took months to repair the bar and the owners put a glob of melted beer cans and scrap metal on the roof in honor of its survival.

And so it was when southern Mississippi came together and put Katrina behind them for an afternoon.

"Today is a great day. Finally people can relax, rather than think about survival," said Chad Favre, Brett's cousin. "You can close the door, and forget about what's going on outside."

Brett Favre and Green Bay fans sent several tractor-trailers full of supplies to Kiln and The Broke Spoke has become something of a community center. Hot food has been served day and night since the storm. - NFL Football -

"Chicken, beer, sausage, we just cooked it up and put it out," Haas said.

Gina Tallman lived in New Orleans but moved in with friends in Kiln after the storm.

"This is part of the recovery," she said. "Life is getting back to normal."

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2005, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved

2005-09-06T09:37:00.000-07:00

More than the game

But it's not all about football.

It's about fun ... and family.

In a survey, Michigan fans said the band is the second-most important part of game day -- besides the team's winning.

That might explain why Kendall's mother, Kimberly, spends Fridays at Elbel Park, watching U-M's storied marching band practice for the next day's gala.

And it isn't unusual for three generations to pile into an SUV or a van to see their favorite teams. They park in the same spot next to the same people, who have become extended family.

Even season tickets, at some schools, are passed down from generation to generation.

"It is the fight songs and the pageantry," said Kendall's father, Jamie Morris, who is No. 2 on Michigan's career rushing list. "In theNFL, teams move and players move. In college, the players change but the colors don't.

"The tradition stays the same."

2005-08-30T08:45:00.000-07:00

High-school football teams take their game out of state

Michael Ko
Seattle Times

High-school football practice starts today, and Bellevue and Issaquah are receiving most of the preseason attention. Rightfully so, because of their matchups against California powerhouses.

But they're not the only ones playing an out-of-state opponent.

Liberty High School in Issaquah will travel to Portland to face Oregon 4A state champion Sprague High of Salem in the inaugural Les Schwab Kickoff Classic on Sept. 1. The game, the first of a doubleheader, is scheduled for 6 p.m. at PGE Park.

The second game features Lynden High, which has reached the 3A state semifinals in three of the past four years, against Scappoose, Ore., at 8:30 p.m.

John McCallum, vice president of ProMax Events in Portland, which organized the games, said the original plan was to emphasize the border clash and invite a Washington big-schoolfootball champion to play an Oregon counterpart.

"All the schools around here are curious, how will you match up against the schools up in Washington you hear about," McCallum said.

But Evergreen from Vancouver, Washington's 4A champion, was already locked into this year's Emerald City Kickoff Classic at Qwest Field on Labor Day against Ferris of Spokane. And Bellevue, the 3A champion, couldn't attend because of a commitment to host Long Beach Poly, Calif., which has more active players in theNFL than any other high school. That game is scheduled for Sept. 16 at 7 p.m., also at Qwest Field.

Issaquah was also considered, but it is playing Mission Viejo, Calif., one of the country's top schools, also at the Emerald City Kickoff Classic.

"I don't think we were their first choice," said Liberty coach Steve Valach, "but when the chance came, we said, 'Let's do it.' [A trip to] Mount Si [in Snoqualmie] is traveling for us. This is a first-time experience."
And why not?

Promoters, who hope for about 7,500 fans per game, are paying for Liberty's transportation on a charter bus, lodging at the Lake Oswego Hilton and all the food, as well as a tour of Nike's headquarters in nearby Beaverton.

"We're definitely biting off a big chunk here," Valach said, "but we feel confident and up to the challenge. We're going down there to win."

2005-08-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

Michigan boasts 5 active NFL-QBs

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Bo Schembechler thought he had the perfect pitch for Rick Mirer. The former Michigan coach was recruiting Mirer at the quarterback's Indiana home on a Monday in 1988 – the same night former Wolverines quarterback Jim Harbaugh was making his first NFL start. What better way for Schembechler to show Mirer that Ann Arbor was the place for him. "As Bo was sitting in Mirer's living room, Dan Dierdorf, a Michigan man, points out on the air that no Michigan quarterback has thrown an NFL touchdown pass," Jim Harbaugh's father, Jack, recalled. "Bo was taken aback at the time, and didn't really know what to say." Mirer ended up at Notre Dame and the Wolverines wound up with Elvis Grbac, one of seven Michigan quarterbacks to start in the NFL over the past 17 years. Three yards and a cloud of dust is not the Wolverines' way anymore. With Tom Brady leading the charge, Michigan's become the new Quarterback U. In the 1980s, Bernie Kosar and Vinny Testaverde helped earn Miami the moniker of Quarterback U. But since 1988, Michigan has produced the same number of starting NFL quarterbacks as the Hurricanes. - NFL Football - Five Wolverines quarterbacks are currently on NFL rosters – more than any other school, and three more than Miami – according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Brady has been the most successful, winning two Super Bowl MVPs with New England. But he had to compete with Dallas' Drew Henson for playing time when he was in college. "I was so nervous to go out to practice because I was competing every day. I swear to God, I would lose sleep," Brady said. "I'd wake up and check the weather to see how windy it was going to be because I knew I was going out there and throwing. You'd learn valuable lessons about competition, and I approached every day in practice like it really was the game." Tampa Bay's Brian Griese, Kansas City's Todd Collins and Arizona's John Navarre are the other Michigan QBs in the NFL. The current quarterback for the nation's winningest college football program has a chance to be its best yet. Chad Henne tied Grbac's school record with 25 touchdown passes last year when he became the first freshman to start every game at quarterback for Michigan and the first to lead a Big Ten team to a conference title. - NFL Football - "Our players embraced him and Chad gets most of the credit for that because of the way he handled the pressure of the job and the praise he got for doing it," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "But [quarterbacks coach] Scot Loeffler did a great job of helping him get better every day and [offensive coordinator] Terry Malone did a great job of giving him things he could handle, not overloading him." Henne estimates he knew less than 50 percent of Michigan's playbook last season when he completed 60 percent of his passes, threw a TD in every game and averaged only one interception per game. - NFL Football - "They'd give me a play and I'd run the play," he said. "This year, I know why we're going to run the play and what defenses are giving us and what we're going to try to do against it." It also helps Henne to have plenty of playmakers at his disposal and a solid line providing ample protection. With the loss of Braylon Edwards, the No. 3 overall NFL draft pick, Henne will spread the ball around to receivers Jason Avant and Steve Breaston and tight ends Tim Massaquoi and Tyler Ecker. And it is not like Michigan has abandoned the running game. Mike Hart led the Big Ten in rushing as a freshman last season. - NFL Football - "Watch out for Chad, he's going to be real dangerous this year," Hart said. "He'll read a lot of defenses. You won't see him passing to one receiver all the time. You're going to see a lot of receivers getting the ball." When Schembechler returned Michigan to prominence in the 1970s, quarterbacks didn't throw much. The Wolverines and rival Ohio State dominated the Big Ten with "3 yards and a cloud of dust" game plans. "Bo started to adapt from an option-based offense to more of a balanced attack when he had John Wangler at QB and Anthony Carter at receiver in the early '80s, and I benefited from that greatly," said Jim Harbaugh, now the head coach at the University of San Diego. "Once quarterbacks saw that they would have a chance to throw the ball, the best started going to Michigan from all over the country." - NFL Football - While Mirer chose to follow the likes of Joe Montana and Joe Theisman at Notre Dame, Henne was easily wooed by Michigan's new QB legacy. "With all the tradition, you want to come here," Henne said. "They've produced great quarterbacks, so that was a big factor."

LARRY LAGE The Associated Press

2005-08-15T09:09:00.000-07:00

NFL season to open with concerts in three cities

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The NFL will kick off the season with concerts featuring a look back at the history of the Super Bowl.
A free concert Sept. 8 outside Los Angeles Coliseum, site of the first Super Bowl, will include Grammy Award winners Kanye West and Maroon 5.
They will be joined by former Super Bowl MVP Marcus Allen and the University of Southern California marching band. - NFL Football -
The other venues involved in the musical event will be at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., home of the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, and Detroit, site of the next Super Bowl on Feb. 5.
Footage from the venues will air on ABC's NFL Opening Kickoff special leading into the season opener between the Patriots and Oakland Raiders. - NFL Football -
In Foxboro, Green Day and Santana will perform. Trisha Yearwood will sing the national anthem. The TV special will feature the first video footage of the Rolling Stones' tour, which plays Detroit on Aug. 31. - NFL Football -

Sports Illustrated

2005-08-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

NFL Day at the track

Football season may be a few weeks away, but on Sunday, folks at the track got to huddle up with some NFL greats from years past -- and it was all for a good cause. NFL fan Paula Sperry said, "You see some names of the older gentlemen when I was growing up, and it is just a thrill to meet them." - NFL Football -
Former Giant and Pro-Bowl lineman Leonard Marshall signed autographs for fans. He said, "I think that most of the guys here care about the development of young adolescents and I think that it's equally important to us when we were coming up."With a $5 donation, fans got the chance to meet a couple dozen NFL greats. The alumni are part a bigger group of former NFL players raising money for organizations that work with kids. Tim Sherwin, President of the Upstate New York NFL Alumni said their motto says it all. He said, "Caring for kids is exactly what it says. The money goes to benefit children and there is a lot of charities that could use the support." - NFL Football -
The NFL players said it's great to raise money for kids, but it is also great to see old friends and guys they used to butt helmets with. - NFL Football -
"It is just as fun for me to be around these guys. It's the one thing you miss being around the fellas, you know the camaraderie, the locker room, everything associated with it," said Marshall.Along with autographs, the NFL players hosted a 'meet the players lunch' and a charity golf outing. - NFL Football -Sherwin expected to raise around $100,000, with all proceeds benefiting the Northeast Parent and Child Society.

TWEAN News

2005-07-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

Former NFL Player Ray Oldham Dies Of Apparent Heart Attack

Chattanooga businessman and former NFL player Ray Oldham died Saturday morning after he apparently had a heart attack while on a bike ride. He was 54.The Oldham family will receive friends on Tuesday from 2-4 and 4-6 at the Heritage Funeral Home on East Brainerd Road. The funeral will be at the Heritage Funeral Home Chapel on Wednesday at 11 a.m. with interment to follow in Chattanooga Memorial Park. - NFL Football -
Chuck Sanders, a close friend and business associate, said Mr. Oldham went for a bike ride early Saturday morning. He was training for a 65-kilometer race. An official from the Hamilton County Sherriff's Department notified the family later that morning that Mr. Oldham's body had been found in Falling Water. - NFL Football -
"I was very, very close to Ray,'' Mr. Sanders said. "He was a dear friend. This has been a struggle."It appears he died of natural causes, probably a heart attack. The officers at the scene said there were no marks on Ray or his bike.''Ray Oldham played football at Gallatin (Tenn.) High School and at Middle Tennessee State University. - NFL Football -
He was a defensive back for Pittsburg when the Steelers won the 1978 Super Bowl.In 1987, he opened the first office in Chattanooga for Raymond James and Associates. He started Investment Management Group in 1989, and in 1994 founded Champion Cleaners Franchise, Inc.Mr. Oldham joined FranChoice, a national franchise consulting company, in 2001. He was also a motivational speaker and since 2004 had formed VL Capital Partners, LLC, which has rights to the Victory Lane Quick Oil Change facilities throughout the state. - NFL Football -

Stan Crawley

2005-07-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

Coaches going out on strike?
It could happen in Pennsylvania

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- College football season is six weeks away and workouts start early next month, but a coaches contract dispute at Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned universities threatens to sideline all fall sports -- potentially paralyzing the Division 2 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. - NFL Football -
Labor disputes are common in professional sports, but union negotiators, school system administrators, and PSAC and NCAA officials say they know of no other such situation in the country involving colleges. The coaches' bargaining unit is thought to be the only such union representing college coaches. - NFL Football -
''It's very new territory for everybody," said PSAC commissioner Steve Murray, who is based in Lock Haven. ''There's nobody we can go to ask for ideas on how to best handle this situation."
Last month, nearly 94 percent of the union's roughly 360 non-faculty coaches voted to authorize a strike. That gives the union's executive council the ability to call a strike if recommended by the coaches' negotiating team. - NFL Football -
The coaches have been working without a deal since June 2004. No deadline has been set, though some coaches see mid-to-late August as a possible target date for a strike. Murray said he is optimistic a deal between the union and state officials soon can be worked out. The PSAC and NCAA say they are monitoring talks, but have steered clear of the negotiations.
Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh garner far more attention during college football season in Pennsylvania, but PSAC football still attracts a loyal following. The schools are scattered mostly in small towns across the state. - NFL Football -
Pennsylvania's four state-related universities -- Penn State, Pitt, Temple, and Lincoln -- are not in the PSAC system and are not affected by the contract dispute.
''Just like any sport, when you have a strike, the only people that would suffer are the fans and players," said Tim Payne, owner of a sporting goods store in Mansfield, home of the conference's Mansfield Mountaineers. ''Nothing good ever comes out of it."
The league has produced several NFL players, including New Orleans Saints coach Jim Haslett and former Buffalo Bills wide receiver Andre Reed.
PSAC teams have excelled in other sports as well. Last year, Bloomsburg won its third straight NCAA Division 2 field hockey championship, and California University of Pennsylvania won the women's Division 2 basketball crown. - NFL Football -
Several coaches say they don't think administrators realize the amount of time coaches spend on the job, especially while teams aren't playing.
For instance, practice times and travel schedules must be coordinated, not to mention the actual coaching during games. Then there are duties such as monitoring academic progress and acting as a parental figure that go beyond a 9-to-5 day, said Lock Haven softball coach Kelley Green.
''I don't want to live paycheck to paycheck anymore. I don't think that's fair," Green said. ''It's just a little bit, and I feel that coaches deserve a lot more for what we put into the university."
Meanwhile, coaches are running summer camps, recruiting, and performing other duties with the expectation there will be a season. Officials from both sides say there has been progress in recent weeks. - NFL Football -
''I'm more optimistic now but we still have to plan to take a job action," said Shippensburg football coach Rocky Rees, a top union negotiator. ''Hopefully, it will be a waste of time."
System spokesman Tom Gluck said the union's strike vote was expected. The coaches' union also represents teachers at the universities, who have threatened to strike in the past.
Health care costs are one of the biggest stumbling blocks in negotiations. Administrators originally proposed a 10 percent medical copay similar to the one in the faculty contract, but union officials have said the copay could eat up the entire raise for some coaches making less than $40,000 a year. - NFL Football -
''We have had tough negotiations because of a very tight budget situation facing state universities," Gluck said. The system faces a $20 million increase in paying for health care costs next year, though it is expected to only get a $10 million budget increase from the state, he added.
Pay raises and performance evaluations are other key issues. Coaches have issued a counterproposal, Rees said. - NFL Football -
Caught in the middle are student-athletes such as Jahri Evans, a 6-foot-4-inch, 340-pound left tackle at Bloomsburg with dreams of a pro career.
Evans says he will back his head coach, union member Danny Hale, even if it means losing his last year of eligibility. - NFL Football -
''It will be totally difficult for me. I will be highly disappointed," Evans said after bench pressing 225 pounds without breaking a sweat inside a desolate Bloomsburg weight room.
But Evans said he is trying to stay positive.
''I think it will be settled," he said. ''I think there's a whole bunch of politics and stuff like that."

Genaro C. Armas,
Associated Press

2005-07-11T13:57:00.000-07:00

Summer Leaves Football Fans Wanting Fall

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Ironically, the statewide tax holiday season - and the weeks that ensue - may be the most taxing time of year for sports fans.
If only one of those sleek generators could produce the electricity of a college football Saturday or Friday night prep playoff game. As it stands, we're left to aimlessly navigate our sports channels' bland summer programming.
Tour de France? A gagging contestant at the Nathan's Famous hot-dog eating contest? The Devil Rays gagging in the eighth?
Frankly, I'd rather watch a stack of spare plywood decompose.
The dog days of summer continue to linger, meaning there's a litter of drab sports offerings on the immediate horizon. NFL preseason games don't kick off until early August, which is roughly the same time college players will smack their first blocking dummy.
Early August? For us card-carrying members of this nation's football-adoring legion, that seems an eternity from now. Until the first NFL preseason game (Indianapolis vs. Atlanta, Aug. 6), the days will drag like a celebrity trial.
Amid the swoon, we're left with few options. We can gripe, grouse, grumble - or gaze ahead.
Nothing screams for a few bold football predictions like a humid July day.
So in accordance with The Tampa Tribune's commitment to public service, here are a few forecasts for the 2005 prep, college and pro football seasons.
Consider it a respite from your exposure to the Rays' bullpen.
Bummed, But Bowl Eligible
Steve Spurrier will go 6-5 in his first season as South Carolina's coach, losing to Florida in a nationally televised prime-time game Nov. 12. In that contest, a true freshman will start at quarterback for the Gamecocks.
Under first-year coach Urban Meyer, Florida will finish 9-2, with its two losses resulting from deficiencies at linebacker and tailback. The site of those defeats - LSU and Alabama.
Under first-year coach Jay Fulmer, Gulf High will finish 5-5, avoiding a losing season for only the second time since 1993.
Freshman Xavier Lee will start at quarterback for Florida State when it opens the season at home against Miami on Labor Day, but classmate Drew Weatherford also will play. The Seminoles will try to protect their rookies behind center with a methodical running attack, but Miami will win a low-scoring grudge match in sophomore quarterback Kyle Wright's starting debut.
Tight end Alex Smith will have the most significant impact of the Buccaneers' rookies, while tailback Carnell ``Cadillac'' Williams misses at least three games with an injury and fails to run for 900 yards.
Pasco will come within a game of reaching the Class 3A state final.
Here Come The Gators
Land O' Lakes will win the newly aligned Class 5A-District 5.
Ron Zook will win his first two games as Illinois coach, then drop eight in a row. The fan base will really start making ``Illi-noise'' when Zook's club squanders a fourth- quarter lead in an Oct. 8 loss at Indiana.
For the second season in a row, Hudson quarterback Kyle Hatcher will finish as Pasco County's leading passer. Pasco counterpart Tony Smith will finish as the county's leading rusher.
The second playoff spot in Class 3A-District 8 will be determined by a three-way tiebreaker when Hudson, Zephyrhills and Gulf each finish with 1-2 district records.
NFL coaches Mike Holmgren (Seattle), Jim Haslett (New Orleans), Dom Capers (Houston) and Mike Tice (Minnesota) will be unemployed by season's end.
The Bucs will finish 7-9, missing the playoffs for the third consecutive year.

Tampa Bay Online

2005-07-06T08:20:00.000-07:00

NFL: Hall of Fame coach Hank Stram dies
His Kansas City team upset the Vikings in Super Bowl IV

Hank Stram, the most successful coach in American Football League history and a TV and radio broadcaster for nearly two decades, died Monday in a suburban New Orleans hospital. He was 82.
Stram died at St. Tammany Parish Hospital near his home in Covington, La., across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans. He had been in declining health for several years, and his son attributed the death to complications from diabetes.
Stram, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was credited with developing the 3-4 defense, the two-tight-end formation and the moving pocket. When his coaching career was over, he worked as an analyst for CBS, first on television and then in the radio booth, where he called "Monday Night Football" alongside Jack Buck.
Stram did radio commentary for four Super Bowls, becoming the first person to participate in the NFL championship game both as a winning coach, with the Kansas City Chiefs, and broadcaster.
"I've lived a charmed life," he once said. "I married the only girl I ever loved, and being able to do a job I truly loved with the Chiefs. I'm a lucky fellow."
Stram, who had suffered from diabetes for several years, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003. Too weak to stand or walk on his own, he watched his prerecorded induction speech from a wheelchair.
"Look at all the red eyes," former Kansas City running back Ed Podolak said at the time. "I cried like a baby, and so did everyone else."
During the AFL's 10-year history, Stram set league records by winning three championships and more games than any other AFL coach. He was coach of the Dallas Texans - staying with them when they became the Kansas City Chiefs - and later coached the New Orleans Saints.
"When it came to football, Hank knew everything about everything," said kicker Jan Stenerud, one of several Hall of Fame players coached by Stram.
Three years after losing the inaugural Super Bowl to the Green Bay Packers 35-10, Stram's Kansas City team upset the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in Super Bowl IV in January 1970. It was the second consecutive Super Bowl victory by an AFL team and was further proof the NFL had met its match.
"That got the attention of everybody," said former Kansas City quarterback Len Dawson, who presented Stram at the Hall of Fame. "People said, 'Hey, wait a minute, who are those people playing out there? And how did they dominate that Minnesota team?' "
For several years, Stram was the only coach not in the Hall of Fame among those who won the first 14 Super Bowls. He finally was elected by the hall's seniors committee.
"If you look at the man's contributions to the game, as an innovator, as a pioneer, as a character, the players who played for him, his record ... if you look at the entire picture, Hank Stram is like one of the founding fathers," one of his former players, Mike Adamle, said in 2000.
Stram designed the moving pocket and the two-tight-end formation to buy extra time for Dawson, and devised the 3-4 defense - referring to three down linemen and four linebackers - in an era when other coaches were using a 4-3.
Against the advice of other coaches who said a zone defense wouldn't work in pro football, Stram used the strategy throughout the 1962 AFL championship game, and his Texans intercepted five George Blanda passes on their way to a 20-17 double-overtime victory over the Houston Oilers.
In his 1970 book, "Illustrated History of Pro Football," author Ron Smith compared Stram to the legendary Cleveland Browns coach Paul Brown and said Stram brought football "to a higher intellectual plane, or at least developed it in the direction of an academic discipline."
But Stram was known for his quirky sense of humor in an era when most high-profile coaches took themselves very seriously. He gave everyone nicknames.
"Hank had his own vocabulary," said Steve Sabol, president of NFL Films. "Hank was the Mentor. His players were called the Rats. The Chiefs didn't drive the ball, they matriculated the ball. Team priests were called blackbirds. The refs were called sausage stuffers."
Dawson said Stram was always able to keep the game in perspective, even though he was very serious about his coaching. Losses didn't haunt him.
"Hank had the ability to let it go," he said. "Some coaches would get hot and angry and be steamed up for three or four games. Hank was very disappointed when we lost, but he was so connected to football and coaching that his mind clicked on to next week. Disappointed that they lost, but looking forward to the next challenge."
Henry Louis Stram was born in Chicago but spent much of his youth in Gary, Ind. where he was an all-state halfback in football and also starred in baseball. After serving in the Army Air Forces during World War II, Stram returned to Purdue University, graduating with a degree in physical education. He also played football and baseball for the Boilermakers.
After graduation, he stayed on at Purdue for seven years as a backfield coach in football and coached the baseball team. He later coached at Southern Methodist University and Notre Dame. He was an assistant coach at the University of Miami and had never been a head football coach, when he was selected by Lamar Hunt to coach the AFL's Dallas Texans.
Stram is survived by his wife of 52 years, the former Phyllis Marie Pesha. Information on additional survivors was not immediately available.

Sam FarmerLos Angeles Times

2005-06-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

Why Notre Dame Will Excel at Recruiting

The Notre Dame football program has a lot to sell just from a tradition and academic standpoint. But landing the best prep recruits usually means selling the NFL and winning championships. That is not going to be hard for coach Weis and his assistant coaching staff. From top to bottom, this coaching staff is going to be able to recruit at a high level every year.

mongst many clichés that could be used to open this article, the best one that comes to mind is “if you build it they will come.”

And that is so true with any given college football program.

Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis is just beginning to rebuild the Notre Dame football program after years of inconsistency. Despite some media members and rival fans saying Notre Dame is a has-been, there are many reasons why coach Weis will bring Notre Dame back to the top.

First, any man that has coached on four Super Bowl championship teams knows the game of football at its highest level. Say hello to coach Weis. He has been blessed to be around coaches such as Bill Parcels, Bill Belichick and Romeo Crennel just to name a few.

Coach Weis is known for his offensive prowess from calling plays to being an excellent game planner; and everyone probably now knows by now that he is well respected within the coaching community for his ability to make adjustments not at halftime, but during the first quarter itself. There are many aspects that coach Weis is well-known for, but those three that are probably the most well known.

The one area that coach Weis has been vastly underrated to date is his ability to hire an assistant coaching staff. If you don’t believe it to be true, simply go to http://und.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/nd-m-footbl-mtt.html#coaches and check out the coaching biographies of the assistant coaching staff. Then, go to any other school in the country and do the same and compare.

It’s not even close. Whatever it was that coach Weis said to each of these coaches persuaded them to South Bend. The man knows how to sell and he hired a fantastic coaching staff around him.

Again, this is going to be a big selling point for coach Weis. Without even looking it up it is a good bet that Notre Dame is the only school in the country that has two assistant coaches in Bill Lewis – Defensive Backs and Rick Minter – Linebackers and Defensive Coordinator that are former college head coaches. Lewis was National Coach of the Year as the head coach at East Carolina and also was the head coach at Georgia Tech, while Minter was the head coach at Cincinnati. You do not sign that type of coaching talent to your staff without being a top-notch head coach yourself.

And let us not forget that quarterback coach Peter Vaas just left a head coaching job with Cologne in NFL Europe to be a quarterback coach under coach Weis. How many coaches would do that? Few, very few.

Selling is obviously a big part of recruiting. There is a tremendous amount of competition throughout the country for the nation’s premiere high school football recruits. If a coach cannot sell, he will be out of a job really soon.

Even with all of the Notre Dame football tradition, the 99.2% graduation rate for football players that stay in the program four years (not five, that’s right, Notre Dame graduates its players in four years and basis its graduation on that length of time), and the incredible alumni connections after earning a Notre Dame degree, football recruits want to win and go to the NFL, period.

Who can blame the recruits that want to make millions of dollars in the NFL? Notre Dame will have a huge recruiting advantage over other programs because no other school has as much to sell from an overall coaching standpoint than Notre Dame. Recruits are going to pay attention to that.

And obviously recruits have already begun to take notice because coach Weis and his assistant coaching staff have already secured eight commitments. And it’s only June 29…

That is not really surprising to me simply because there are several excellent recruiters amongst the assistant coaching staff. Not good recruiters, excellent recruiters – there is a big difference.

Having recruits such as tailbacks James Aldridge and Munir Prince, defensive end Kallen Wade, quarterback Zack Frazer and tight end Paddy Mullen already in the fold is a luxury few programs have. Notre Dame has those same recruits in the fold due to the coaching staff. Recruits choose a school as much for the coaching staff as anything else. It helps establish a comfort level for the recruit with Notre Dame. Without that comfort level, Notre Dame would be dead in the water.

Having several highly rated recruits already in the fold will lead to other recruits saying “hey, I want to be a part of that.” It is the proverbial snowball effect. The energy combined by the entire Notre Dame coaching staff is the accelerator that started rolling the snowball down hill. And that did not just happen overnight. This recruiting class started to take shape back in January when the coaching staff was brought together for the first time under coach Weis. Junior recruiting is a big part of the game of college football. And junior recruiting is well under way for the Class of 2007 … remember that when Notre Dame comes sprinting out the starting gate next February and March.

Recruiting coordinator and wide receiver coach Rob Ianello came to Notre Dame from Wisconsin with the reputation as one of the nation’s premiere recruiters. He has more than earned his stripes to date. While he leads the charge as the recruiting coordinator every coach on the staff has done well to date in some capacity.

Coach Lewis is already proving to be one of the best recruiters in the Southeast with his strong ties to North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida that will pay off not only this year but for years to come. And who honestly thought that a long time NFL assistant with the Miami Dolphins was going to be effective in the recruiting game his first year back at the college level? Hats off to coach Lewis. He has done a remarkable job thus far with recruits such as Raeshon McNeil, Toryan Smith, Kiante Tripp, Lawrence Marsh and Richard Jackson just to name five high profile recruits from Dixie.

Now I could go on and on about every coach, but that is not necessary. This staff is first-rate and it will sell itself to recruits that want to reach the NFL (you are going to read the coaching biographies if you do not believe this coaching staff’s collective resume is the best in the nation, aren’t you?). That’s the bottom line. The best prep players want to reach the NFL some day.

Tight Ends/Special Teams coach Bernie Parmalee (Tight ends/Special Teams – Miami Dolphins), coach Lewis (Defensive Nickel package/Defensive backs – Miami Dolphins) and of course coach Weis have coached in the NFL. Their combined NFL experience will enable them to talk about how to reach the NFL with recruits and that is not something to take lightly. Recruits will pay attention to coaches that have NFL experience and what they have to say about Notre Dame and why they chose to coach at Notre Dame.

So for the Notre Dame fans wondering how recruiting will unfold, do not fret. This staff is worth its weight in gold (yes, pun intended).

Finally, I have seen coach Weis speak live. He is an incredible speaker and is well prepared for anything. He is going to be dynamite with recruits and their parents alike during official visits and in-home visits.

Good times are ahead.

By Brian Smith

Nfl Football Pic

2005-06-22T08:56:00.000-07:00

Nfl Football Pic
Knowing the inner workings of kickers

DOVER -- Dr. John Muczko doesn't know a plant foot from plant food. But he understands what goes on inside the head that controls that foot. And that's why he's become an expert on kicking a football.
Muczko is a sports psychologist at Wesley College. He also works with Chris Boniol, a former NFL kicker who played for the Eagles in 1997-98, at a series of kicking camps. They're currently conducting a camp at Wesley this week.
Actually, Muczko was a kicker, so he understands the physical demands of the job. But he focuses on the mental part of it and leaves the technical stuff to Boniol.
"We're like bookends,'' Muczko said. "We're able to give you the complete picture.''
Muczko also works with current Cowboys kicker Billy Cundiff, who, like Boniol, credits Muczko with turning him from a good kicker into an NFL kicker who earns millions of dollars.
"Most of the people I work with have the physical talent or they wouldn't have gotten as far as they have,'' Muczko said. "I'm able to give them something extra, something that can get them over the top as a kicker, the mental edge they need.
"When they get the mental discipline and confidence to go with that talent, that's what separates the regular kickers from the Billy Cundiffs of the world.''
Boniol was playing at Louisiana Tech in the early 1990s when he started working with Muczko, who was teaching there and assisting with the athletic program. Muczko, a native of New Castle, Pa., joined Wesley's department of physical education in 2001.
"He made a big difference in how I approached kicking and the results I had,'' Boniol said. "Before I started working with John, I really didn't have a clue. I had a strong leg, but I really didn't know what to do with it.
"The results speak for themselves.''
In his first three seasons at Louisiana Tech, before he began working with Muczko, Boniol made 56 percent of his field-goal attempts. As a senior, after working with Muczko, Boniol made 76 percent (16-for-21). And that was good enough for him to be signed to an NFL contract by the Dallas Cowboys.
"For the first time, I felt confident every time I went out to kick,'' Boniol said. "And in kicking, confidence is everything.''
Muczko gave him that confidence because he gave him a routine. That included pregame visualization, where Boniol would mentally see himself making field goals from various distances and angles. And, like a free-throw shooter in basketball, Muczko had him develop a pre-kick routine, where he would do the same things the same way every time, whether it was a practice kick in July or a potential game-winning kick in December.
"When you do that, you eliminate the outside distractions, like the weather conditions or the loudness of the fans or even the importance of the moment,'' Muczko said. "You can rely on your routine to carry you through.''
And it helped carry Boniol to the NFL. He started with Dallas as a rookie free agent in 1996. For the next three seasons, Boniol was perhaps the best kicker in Dallas history. He twice led the NFL in field-goal accuracy and was 7-for-7 in a 1996 game against Green Bay. Boniol also has a Super Bowl ring from the Cowboys' 27-17 victory over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XXX.
Boniol went on to kick for the Eagles for two seasons and with the Chicago Bears for one year. Then he started his kicking camps and recruited Muczko to join him.
And Boniol was so impressed with Muczko's approach, he told Cundiff about it. Cundiff had just finished his rookie season with Dallas in 2002 and had a so-so year, making 12 of 19 attempts.
"I wasn't really satisfied with my first year,'' Cundiff said. "I felt like I needed to do something extra, I needed some kind of edge. So, when Chris told me about John, I figured I had nothing to lose.
"So, he started working right away on building a routine and doing things on a consistent basis. You've got to have a plan. And I had pretty much been just going up there and kicking, so I was all over the place.
"I remember the first time it all kind of clicked for me, when I really understood what it was all about,'' Cundiff added. "And it came at the perfect time -- we were on 'Monday Night Football.' ''
That was the second game of the 2003 season and the Cowboys faced the New York Giants under the bright lights of Giants Stadium. Cundiff tied an NFL record -- previously tied by Boniol -- by kicking seven field goals. The sixth one was a 52-yarder on the final play of regulation, which sent it into overtime. And the seventh one was a 25-yarder that won it.
"That convinced me that John knew what he was talking about,'' Cundiff said, laughing as he added, "I'd have to be pretty dense if I wasn't convinced by that.''

The News Journal/GARY EMEIGH

By KEVIN NOONAN / The News Journal