Sports Then and Now

Aaron Rodgers threw 348 yards and 3 touchdowns on Turkey Day.

Yes Fantasy Football ruined my Turkey Day.

My opponent didn’t give me any thanks at all. I guess that’s what happens when you go against Donald Driver, Aaron Rodgers, Ryan Grant, and Miles Austin when they play the pathetic Lions and lowly Raiders.

No favorable matchups for me!

After a painful loss last week by 2.3 points, I am now only 1 game up in the division at 7-4 after losing 2 out of 3 games.

Thanks to Kris Brown for botching his tying field goal versus the Titans. If you made it, I would have won and could have enjoyed my holiday more.

Kickers even ruin fantasy football when they miss a kick!

Thanks for nothing!

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Lauren Gardner in her cheering days with the Denver Broncos

I confess. Despite being the most happily married man this side of the Rockies, I’m still a sucker for a pretty face. My wife Kate, allows me to look at the menu as long as I promise not to eat from the buffet. And I promise faithfully. Not so much as even a light snack.

So, when I saw that Lauren Gardner had joined the Linked-in group, A Glove of Their Own, I approached her to do a story before the ink even cooled. I was familiar with Lauren after seeing her cheer for the Denver Broncos in 2007 and remember her as a woman amongst girls.

No offense to the other members of the squad, but Lauren’s flaming red hair, flying crazy against the sea of orange and blue was a sight that few of the 70,000 plus football-hungry males at Invesco Field could ever forget.

Blessed with flowing red locks, a gorgeous white toothie smile, and abs that a forty something like me would die for, Lauren registers on the smoking scale somewhere slightly north of “mucho caliente.” Read the rest of this entry →

Each week, Sports Then and Now picks one NFL matchup and looks through the history books to find an intriguing past meeting between the two teams. We recap the game and hopefully help reintroduce (or introduce for you younger readers) you to some of the greats (and in some cases not so greats) from the history of professional football.

As two original members of the AFL, the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers twice annually on the field since 1960 and will face off for the 100th time when they meet November 22nd in Denver. Since 1977, the two teams have been the most dominant squads in the AFC West, combining for 19 of the last 32 division titles. Denver has won 10 titles, while the Chargers have claimed the division crown nine times, including each of the last three years.

There have been some high-scoring meetings between the two teams.

In just the second-ever meeting between the teams in 1960, Jack Kemp threw three touchdowns and the Los Angeles Chargers scored the final 14 points of the game to win 41-33. In that game, Gene Mingo of the Broncos kicked four field goals, scored a rushing touchdown and returned four kickoffs for 99 yards.

In 1963 the two teams took turns running up the score. Denver defeated San Diego 50-34 on October 6 and then the Chargers returned the favor with a 58-20 beat-down of the Broncos on December 22.

Perhaps one of the most exciting games in the series occurred in 2000 when the then-winless Chargers used three touchdown passes from Ryan Leaf to grab a 37-24 lead before Gus Frerotte tossed two touchdown passes in the final five minutes to lift the Broncos to a 38-37 victory.

Our pick for the Classic Rewind is a 1985 battle that features a pair of Hall of Fame quarterbacks in John Elway and Dan Fouts. Neither quarterback had a career day, but they both made the big plays down the stretch. The overtime battle finished with a dramatic twist that helped propel one team toward future success and the other toward a long period of futility.

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The Matchup: New England Patriots vs. Denver Broncos

All Time Head to Head Record: The Patriots had won ten of their first eighteen match-ups against their AFL rival in the 60s. New England then split four meetings in the 70s before losing eleven straight against John Elway’s Broncos teams. The Patriots finally beat Denver after Elway’s retirement, winning two straight before dropping two straight entering this 2003 match-up.

The Game: November 2, 2003 played at INVESCO Field at Mile High Denver, CO

Season Team Records: New England Patriots (6-2), Denver Broncos (5-3)

Overview: Denver was the house of horrors for New England entering their Monday Night tilt. The Patriots were 1-12 in their last 13 trips to the Mile High city.

New England and Denver were both feeling the injury bug. The Patriots have shuffled 40 players in and out of the starting line up. All Pro, Richard Seymour joined the walking wounded with a leg injury.

The Broncos were down to their third string quarterback, Danny Kanell. Starter Jake Plummer and back-up Steve Beuerlein were both injured and not available. They were also missing receiver, Ed McCaffrey and two starting linebackers.

Both teams were jockeying for position in the AFC playoff picture. This matchup was extremely important for both teams possibly dictating home field advantage come January.

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Karl Mecklenburg at induction ceremony for Colorado Hall of Fame

The following is part of a weekly series called “Through the Eyes Of…” In each segment, I share interviews with or stories about those that I view to be the “good guys.” “Through the Eyes of…” is a part of my personal crusade to present sports in all its beauty, splendor, and goodness, instead of through hashing and rehashing all that is broken with our national treasures.

I recently became acquainted with Karl Mecklenburg after being asked by his publicist, Julie Schoerke, to do a book review on Mecklenburg’s new book, “Heart of a Student Athlete: All Pro Advice for Competitors and Their Families”.

I hesitated at first for a number of reasons. Aside from the book having the longest name to ever appear in the Dewey Decimal System, Mecklenburg gave my New England Patriots fits every time they ventured into Mile High. Why would I want to help the enemy promote his book?

Also, I confess that I’m not much of a reader and have truly struggled through my previous attempts to become sports literature’s version of Siskel and Roeper. Amazing that someone can pretend to be so learned and have hardly cracked a book since college at Syracuse circa 1983. If a book doesn’t grab my interest in about the first five pages it becomes a door stop. Read the rest of this entry →

Mecklenburg sizing up his opponent during his 12 NFL seasons

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” is the often used cliche used by those who once sipped from a cup of swill only to rise and taste champagne.

Though not a direct quote in NFL-All-Pro Karl Mecklenburg’s new book, “Heart of a Student Athlete-All Pro Advice for Competitors and Their Families” it is the underlying theme between the covers of this wonderful new motivational manual.

Mecklenburg, who was once thought to be “too small, too slow and too stiff” to become a successful football player at any level, used his intelligence, his diligence and his refusal to accept defeat in countless stops along the journey to becoming a top NFL linebacker.

Frequently referred to as the “most versatile player in the NFL” for his ability to play all of the front seven positions, Mecklenburg recaps the many hurdles he had to leap throughout his life en-route to his famed NFL career. Read the rest of this entry →