Sports Then and Now

Joe and Natalie Niekro

It’s funny how life sometimes brings you down a path you didn’t plan to walk down. You welcome its existence and take the first step with a slight sense of trepidation.

Dear Tom Brady and the New England Patriots,

I am cheating on you with the Cleveland Browns. Our relationship started in the mid 80’s. I fell in love with Bernie Kosar, Clay Matthews, Frank Minnifield, Hanford Dixon, Webster Slaughter, and Earnest Byner. I loved their logo less helmets, their pets in the Dawg Pound, and their heartbreak.

They lost to John Elway in the1986 AFC Championship because of “The Drive”. “The Fumble” by Earnest Byner in the 1987 AFC Championship ripped all Browns fans’ hearts out and stomped them to death. However, I was still there for them and lent them my shoulder to cry on.
Read the rest of this entry →

Nile Kinnick

In preparation for the start of college football season, we recognize as the Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Week a former Heisman Trophy winner who was more than just a football hero; he was an American Hero.

It was 70 years ago that Nile Kinnick Jr. led the Iowa Hawkeyes to an improbable run into the national Top 10.

Read the rest of this entry →