After coming close a year ago, Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers will look to return to the Super Bowl.
The 2013 NFL season started with a bang as one of the all-time greats, Peyton Manning, matched an NFL record with 7 touchdown passes against the defending Super Bowl Champions.
With that as a prelude, expect the rest of the 2013 season to be exciting and perhaps filled with more records and amazing performances.
Below are five “Fearless Predictions” of things I expect to see in 2013:
A Step Back For Rookie Quarterbacks
There was a time in NFL history when quarterbacks were expected to spend multiple years learning the league and the system of their specific team before being thrust into the starting lineup.
However, over the past decade that practice has given way to higher immediate expectations for rookie quarterbacks and the expectation that a quarterback should be ready to play right away.
In 2008 rookie quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan each led their teams to the playoffs and the following campaign Mark Sanchez took the New York Jets to the AFC Championship Game.
The last two seasons have been especially fertile for rookie quarterbacks. In 2011 Cam Newton set a new rookie record for passing yards and Andy Dalton led the Bengals to the playoffs. Read the rest of this entry →
Will Nick Saban again be lifting the BCS crystal when the season is over?
Though the fact that much of the country has been experiencing some of the warmest weather of the summer might suggest otherwise, the wait really is over and it is time for college football season.
The opening games on Thursday night just wet the whistle for what should be another great year across the country.
Rather than joining the thousands of others who have offered their preseason rankings and conference predictions, here are “5 Fearless Predictions” of things I expect to see happen in college football this season.
1. Someone other than Johnny Manziel wins the Heisman Trophy
This may have been considered an off the wall prediction after the freshman phenom won the Heisman Trophy and then led Texas A&M to a Cotton Bowl victory last season. However, he has spent the last nine months getting more attention for the parties he has attended and for all the time he spent signing autographs for “free” than for his upcoming sophomore season.
I think Manziel is a talented college football player (though unlikely to be a good NFL player), but his rise to the Heisman last season was a bit of a fluke as it was really the result of one huge performance against Alabama and the lack of a clear offensive star among the elite teams in the game. Read the rest of this entry →
Every year athletes across the globe compete for iconic championships and the trophies that come with them. Here is a look at some of the best known trophies in sports.
Stanley Cup
This coveted trophy is awarded each year to the National Hockey League’s winner of the Stanley Cup Finals. It is so iconic that the men presenting the trophy wear white gloves. Unlike many trophies that are made specifically for a championship team each year, this trophy is passed onto the next winner from year to year. Named after Lord Stanley of Preston, then Governor General of Canada in 1893, the Stanley Cup has been held high above the heads of hockey champions for many generations.
The five bands forming the trophy’s base have special significance. Each player’s name for the winning team is inscribed on the lowest band. Once the band becomes full, the oldest band, located at the top of the base, is removed and placed on display in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
NBA Championship Trophy
Many may not know that the NBA Trophy is actually called the Larry O”Brien NBA Championship Trophy. Don’t recognize the name? Many don’t. A number of years ago, professional basketball was struggling to make a name for itself. If it weren’t for the efforts of then commissioner of basketball Larry O’Brien, the NBA may not ever have become the widely known professional sport it is today. During the mid 1970’s and into the 80’s, Larry O’Brien made a number of gutsy decisions that have ultimately led to the NBA we cherish today.
The trophy stands two feet tall and weighs in at nearly 15 pounds. It is designed to look like a basketball about to enter the net. It is made of sterling silver and overlaid with 24 carat gold. Each year the winning team receives its own trophy to permanently display. Read the rest of this entry →
It’s almost here, but if you weren’t excited enough about the NFL returning in a couple weeks, here are a few more reasons. It’s time to make some predictions that will inevitably have clear cut outomes and boggle the minds of some while sparking some pretty intense debates. I think I have them all right, though. Here are my picks for all eight division winners, the four Wild Card teams, each conference’s championship matchup, the Super Bowl, league leaders and major award recipients.
AFC East (2): Patriots – Nine straight division titles when the team has been quarterbacked by Tom Brady? Yeah, make it 10 for New England. While they undoubtedly will be transitioning on the field this season, they are still fairly high above the other three teams in the division. Plus, their quarterback never runs into butts.
AFC North (4): Bengals – Get used to hearing “Dalton to Green” and get used to seeing the Bengals in the postseason (even if it is just for one game) for the third straight year. Cleveland will probably finish fourth.
AFC South (3): Colts – The Colts made an unbelievable turnaround in 2012 and it seems to me they are not done improving. Eleven wins last season was good, but I see them hitting at least 12 this year, including making a push to overtake the Texans late in the year with a huge win over them in Week 15.
AFC West (1): Broncos – Obviously. This one will probably be the biggest division win by any team this season. I say 14-2 for Denver with San Diego the closest to them at 7-9. Welker…and Decker…and Thomas might play a role in their success as well. Read the rest of this entry →
The new book looks at the sometimes dicey relationship between two Alabama legends Bear Bryant and Joe Namath.
The new book by Randy Roberts and Ed Krzemienski, Rising Tide : Bear Bryant, Joe Namath and Dixie’s Last Quarter, is dedicated to, among others, “all of the … passionate fans of the Crimson Tide, the most successful college football team in history.” It was not, however, written by fans.
In interest of full disclosure, I was born in 1965, just a few months after the last events of this book, and have been a fan of the Crimson Tide since 1972. I graduated from the Capstone in 1991, just a year shy of being able to experience the joys of 1992 for myself. I worked in the sports information office with Coach Gene Stallings, knew Dude Hennessey, Charley Thornton and Clem Gryska among others cited in the book.
If you’ve ever wondered why, when discussing the pantheon of greats from Tide history, Joe Namath doesn’t seem to get mentioned quite as often as Harry Gilmer, Don Hutson, Vaughn Mancha, Dixie Howell, Pat Trammel, Lee Roy Jordan, Johnny Musso, Kenny Stabler, Bob Baumhauer, Woody Lowe Ozzie Newsome or any of the newer stars, despite the fact that Bryant often called him the “greatest athlete I ever coached,” this book might help you understand it. Ever the outsider, Namath starred for the University of Alabama, but he never really was “part” of it. To paraphrase Chris Peterson, he wasn’t O.K.P. (our kinda player).
If you really are a fan of the Tide and have even a little sense of the history (and I don’t think you get to call yourself a ‘fan’ if you don’t), then there really is not a ton of new material here from a program perspective. There is, however, a great deal of background information about Namath, culled from interviews with family, friends and the man himself. That material alone makes the book worth the effort. Read the rest of this entry →
Art Donovan was one of the great characters in NFL history.
The sports world lost one of the great characters of all-time with the passing on Sunday of football Hall of Fame defensive lineman Art Donovan at the age of 89. Not only was Donovan a Hall of Fame football player, but he was also an American Hero as he served with distinction during World War II.
The son of Hall of Fame boxing referee Art Donovan Sr., Art Jr. originally attended Notre Dame for one semester before leaving school in 1942 to enlist in the Marines. Stationed in the Pacific, he served as an anti-aircraft gunner on the USS San Jacinto during the assault on Leyte in the Philippines.
He later volunteered for the Fleet Marine Force, which landed him in the middle of combat on Okinawa. His citations, which included the Asiatic Pacific Area Ribbon and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon, are a major reason he was the first pro football player selected for the U.S. Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame.
After the war, Donovan played college football at Boston College before being drafted by the New York Giants as the 204th pick of the 1947 NFL Draft.
He did not actually make his NFL debut until 1950 playing for the original Baltimore Colts. After the team, which also included future Hall of Fame quarterback Y.A. Title folded, he then spent the next two seasons playing for the New York Yanks and the Dallas Texans. As luck would have it, both of those teams also failed and in 1953 he returned to Baltimore with the reincarnated Baltimore Colts.
With the new Colts, Donovan emerged as one of the top defensive linemen in the league. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 1953 and from 1954-57 was a first team All-Pro each season. He was a member of the championship teams for the Colts in 1958 and 1959.
Donovan remained with the Colts through the 1961 season and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968.
On the field Donovan was just another faceless lineman performing the grunt work in the trenches. But after his retirement, Donovan was anything but quiet and anonymous. His book Fatso was a best seller and he made many appearances on late night television with Johnny Carson and David Letterman. He was also featured one year in ESPN football ads and was prominent in some great NFL Films programs that remembered football in the 1950s and 1960s.
Below are a few of the great video clips featuring this American original. Enjoy!
Louie Dampier’s name might not resonate as widely as other basketball legends, but the Sports Then & Now Vintage Athlete of the Month’s impact on the game, particularly during the American Basketball Association (ABA) era, is undeniable. Known for his pinpoint shooting, exceptional ball handling, and relentless work ethic, Dampier enjoyed a stellar basketball career that saw him thrive in both the ABA and NBA. As one of the most consistent and prolific guards of his time, Dampier left a lasting legacy, and his role in the ABA’s history solidified his place in the annals of basketball greatness.
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