Sports Then and Now

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers appear poised for a repeat run to the Super Bowl.

After seeing some of my “5 Bold Predictions” for college football come crashing to the ground after just one week (thanks Notre Dame and TCU), I approach my NFL predictions with a sense of caution knowing that they could be totally off-base before the first week is even complete.

Even with a shortened off-season, this promises to be an exciting NFL campaign. I think because of the lack of preparation time you will see some teams that rely on preparation struggle early while teams that have superior talent will be able to hit stride right away.

It is already apparent that one huge issue in 2011 will be injuries. Several teams have lost starting players to season ending injuries and because players have gone at full speed for such short times during the preseason expect that to continue to happen throughout the regular season.

Prediction 1: The New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts will miss the playoffs

This statement might seem a bit bolder if Peyton Manning’s season wasn’t in limbo and if seemingly half of the defense for the New York Giants wasn’t already out for the season with injuries.

Every year there seems to be at least one team that has their season derailed or significantly altered by injuries. It appears that both the Giants and Colts will have a difficult time overcoming the injuries that have already impacted their season.

Of the two teams, I think the Giants can probably still be a decent team even without Terrell Thomas, Johnathan Goff, Marvin Austin and the others. However, in a division that includes two other likely playoff contenders in the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, there is little margin for error and as they learned last season, even a 10-win season doesn’t guarantee a playoff spot. Read the rest of this entry →

A two-team race between the New England Patriots and the New York Jets for most of the last decade, the AFC East may be more competitive in 2011. Both Buffalo and Miami have key youngsters and new veteran stars to level the playing field in the division.

After being signed by the Bills late last season, linebacker Shawne Merriman will look to make an impact on Buffalo's defense in 2011.

Since 2001, New England has eight division titles and is 3-1 in Super Bowls. The Jets have been the runner-up in the AFC each of the last two seasons. In fact, the division has been won by either the Patriots or Jets every year since 2001 except for 2008 when Miami won it.

The Bills will look to linebacker Shawne Merriman who they acquired off waivers last November as well as Alabama rookie defensive tackle Marcell Dareus to bolster their defense. A first-round pick in 2005 when he was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, Merriman has been slowed by injuries in recent years. Dareus, the Defensive Most Valuable Player of the 2010 Citi BCS National Championship game win over Texas, is projected to start. Buffalo finished tied for 27^th in the league in 2010 with just 27 sacks.

Merriman is looking to be of the same impact that he was from 2005 through ‘07 when he logged 39.5 of his 43 career sacks.

Reggie Bush brings his quickness, agility, and speed to the Dolphins' new-look rushing attack in 2011.

The Dolphins sport new running backs after signing veterans Reggie Bush and Larry Johnson. Bush is a gamebreaker with his speed and agility running and receiving. Johnson adds toughness.

Gridiron Grunts is fun and easy to use!

In this age of social media, fans are getting up close and personal with their favorite celebrities and athletes. We all know about Twitter and Facebook, but now NFL fans have their own social media medium. It’s called Gridiron Grunts.

You may ask, what is a grunt? A Grunt is an audio message that lasts 0-45 seconds. Instead of texting or calling your friends, you can send them an audio “grunt” from your smartphone (IPHONE and Android are now available!)

Sounds cool huh?

I was able to chat with co-founders Jeb B. Terry Jr and Ryan Nece, former NFL players and teammates during their time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, about their social medium application that connects you with your friends and favorite NFL personalities like Wes Welker, Philip Rivers and Chris Johnson.

ST&N: How was Gridiron Grunts born?

Gridiron Grunts: GRIDIRON GRUNTS™ started as a conversation over dinner. A colleague of mine and I were talking about business and football and we landed on the idea of selling QB cadences as ringtones. We believed that fans would like to hear their favorite QB saying: “Blue 80, Blue 80, Set Hut, Hut, Hut”, and other variations of course.

The GRIDIRON GRUNTS™ platform transformed from a ringtone marketplace into a fan engagement and sports media network allowing athletes to create and control their own media. Our goal is to help athletes manage their brand and content while connecting with their fans. GRUNTS™ accomplishes that by distributing authentic content without the filter of traditional media, straight from the source in real time. The athletes don’t have to worry about being misquoted or misinterpreted; their content is all on GRIDIRON GRUNTS™ for everyone to listen to.

The network also allows all users to GRUNT back and forth for free. It’s as if you are sending a voice memo or voice text to one or all of your friends at once.

ST&N: Did you both come up with concept while you played together in Tampa?

GG: No, the concept was thought of after we played. I was in the middle of getting my MBA at UNC Kenan Flagler’s business school when we started the business. Ryan and I have been great friends since playing together and we always bounce business ideas off of one another. I approached Ryan to get his thoughts and advice after developing the initial idea. He obviously liked the idea and joined Gridiron Ventures, LLC to help refine and build the business. Our Chief Creative Officer, Joel Cave, also has been involved from the beginning and is an integral part of our company.

ST&N: How did you get all these NFL players involved?

GG: We got the current roster involved by tapping our own personal networks of both players and agents. We also went to every major NFL event and spoke with anyone that would listen. We have had success attracting athletes because it is a no risk proposition for them. We provide them with the means to communicate directly to their fans in an easy and unique way. All an athlete has to do is speak into his phone and press submit. His GRUNT is then pushed to every one of his subscribers immediately. This is an opportunity for players to conduct their own postgame interviews on their own time.

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With Practically Every Sport Going On, This Season Is The Best In Sports.

Sports is in it’s grand stage. There’s only 26 games left in the Regular Season for Major League Baseball, the NFL Preseason is finally coming to an end, College Football is ready to renew rivalries and start traditions, and even the pride and passion of High School Football is about to be unleashed. What can get better than this? That’s right, nothing.

We’ll start with Major League Baseball. Normal, regular fans only get excited when September comes. Granted, Opening Day is widely anticipated, but the excitement dies down after the first few weeks. Once the Calender turns to the 9th month, however, is when the games begin. Division Races are at full stride, which means players are giving it their all to push their team just a little bit further. For the Philadelphia Phillies, the fans, know their team is the best. They always believe that. Now is the time, for the fans belief, and the team’s skill, to collide and meet face to face. Questions pop up everyday. Can the Phillies hold off the excitement and win it all? Can Milwaukee finish off the NL Central? Who will win the AL East? Will the Defending Champs be left out of the postseason? It all comes down to these 26 games. Then, it matters most.

Preseason, Spring Training, Spring Practice. Sorry if I just put you to sleep. Do the leagues realize, that no one cares about these games?! Sure, it helps make cuts and gets everyone in the groove of things, but for the fans? It’s torture. Don’t worry, because the Preseason saga is finally coming to an end. I can’t believe how much excitement this 2011 NFL Season brings after the lockout. What’s better than 16 hard fought games by your favorite team? A Super Bowl Ring. That’s the goal of every single team out there. The only problem is, there’s 31 teams in their way.

College Football, is my favorite sport. The players aren’t in it for money, (excluding the violators) their in it 100% for winning, and for their school. It’s not just 32 teams in it for the title, it’s more than a hundred! Granted, it’s mathematically impossible for some teams to not win it all, but the fight is still there, and that’s what I love about the game. Rivalries, Traditions. Michigan vs. Ohio State. Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State, Florida vs. Florida State, etc. Every game matters most, and the College Football season easily adds to the excitement this fall. Read the rest of this entry →

The first Chicago College All-Star Game was played on August 31, 1934.

It was 77 years ago today that nearly 80,000 people packed Soldier Field for the first game of what would become a popular forty year series of football games pitting the best of the recent college graduates against the defending NFL Champions.

The brainchild of Chicago Tribune Sports Editor Arch Ward, the first game was played on August 31, 1934 and though the game ended in a 0-0 tie, it set the stage for an annual exhibition that eventually drew more than 100,000 fans.

Many of the greatest players in college and NFL history were part of the series over the years and the game wasn’t always a walk-in-the-park for the NFL Champions against the young NFL rookies. In fact, two of the first three games in the series ended in a tie and in 1937 Sammy Baugh led the College All-Stars to their first victory in the series.

The game was played annually through 1976 when declining crowds and the reluctance of coaches to lose their star rookies for the beginning of training camp led to the end of the series.

However, what still remains is a legacy of classic games and memories of a time when NFL exhibition games did have value and meaning and newcomers could make an immediate impression against the best stars in the league.

For more memories from the Chicago College All-Star Games, check out this in depth article that was originally written for Sports Then and Now in 2009.

The NFL Preseason Brings Highly Anticipated Games.

As the NFL Preseason is starting tomorrow, here is my insight on which games to watch:

1. Baltimore @ Philadelphia- Thursday at 7:30pm:

The opener of the preseason schedule starts the season off with a bang. The reason this game is a must watch, is because of a very intriguing story line. Delaware Alum, and Ravens QB Joe Flacco will return to Philadelphia for the first time in his NFL career, and will surely hear the boos. Philadelphia, who recently went Christmas shopping, will give the fans their first taste of CB’s Nnamdi Asomaugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, along with DE Jason Babin, and others. With star QB Michael Vick probably only playing one series, the world will get to see backup QB Vince Young for most of the night. Other rookies to watch are 6th round draft pick, Kicker Alex Henery a and Punter Chas Henry. The Ravens will show backup RB Ricky Williams and 1st Round Draft Pick CB Jimmy Smith out of Colorado. An amazing scene will take place on Thursday night, at the Linc.

2. Tampa Bay @ Kansas City- Friday at 8:00pm (FOX):

This game is nationally televised for a reason, as the Bucs’ battle the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, an always hostile environment. For Kansas City, they’ll give their Rookie QB Ricky Stanzi his first NFL appearance and show Chief fans what a stellar pick he was. Along with Stanzi, the Chiefs have WR Dwayne Bowe and QB Matt Cassel  ready to disrupt Tampa’s D. For the Buccaneers, they have alot to show. Coach Raheem Morris will likely only put rising stars, QB Josh Freeman and RB LeGarrette Blount for a series or two. Also note WR Mike Williams only playing briefly. It’ll be mostly rookies, but a solid game to watch on a Friday night.

3. San Diego @ Dallas- Sunday, August 21st at 8:00pm (NBC)

With Cowboys Stadium packed, Dallas will be on their A Game. QB Tony Romo will look to start healthy. It’s hard to tell how many series Romo will get, but Cowboys fans will be psyched to see him playing again. The Running Back position has question marks all around it, so RB Felix Jones will look to solve those against the Chargers. Football fans will love to see WR’s Miles Austin and Dez Bryant on Primetime. For San Diego, Coach Norv Turner may be entering his last season, as the Chargers have not been pleased with the lack of success. QB Phillip Rivers will play rarely. TE Antonio Gates and WR Malcolm Floyd will also be brief. Great game, expect the Cowboys to come out at full charge. Read the rest of this entry →