Sports Then and Now

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 →

It was about a year ago that I first learned about Twitter and started my own personal Twitter account (dhprguy). At the time I was working for a public relations firm and it was pretty obvious that gaining an understanding of the power of social networks was essential for people in the public relations field.

As a networking tool, I’m still not sold on Twitter. Most of the people that follow you and that you follow on Twitter are complete strangers and interactions seem to be a bit forced and trivial.

When you are following thousands of people, as many people do, and have thousands following you, I don’t see how you can expect to have a meaningful conversation or personal engagement with someone.

However, as a tool for disseminating information there is no question that Twitter has a ton of power.

Many companies are using Twitter to inform customers and potential customers about their products. It also is a great place for bloggers like myself to announce our latest post or share a great site or blog that we saw somewhere else on the web.

Many celebrities have figured out that putting something on Twitter before formally announcing it to the media helps ensure that the points they want to make can be told (140 characters at a time).
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Just as his injury did a year ago, the return of Tom Brady will have a major impact on the AFC.

Overview: The AFC has claimed five of the last six Super Bowls and the only one they didn’t win was when the Patriots were unable to complete a perfect season in 2007. While it appears that the top teams from the NFC have improved and is actually a deeper league top-to-bottom, the AFC still has a number of top teams that are legitimate Super Bowl picks. In addition to the perennial contenders in New England, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Baltimore, there are a number of other teams preparing to make a run at the top of the conference.
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The smile may finally return to Michael Vick's face now that he has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles.

A team with a long tradition of mobile quarterbacks has added another one to the mix with the signing of Michael Vick by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Of course, the return of Vick to the NFL means the circus will be headed to Philadelphia for at least the next few days as the former top pick has become one of the more polarizing figures in the league following his conviction in 2007 on charges of conspiracy and running a dog-fighting operation.

Vick last played in the NFL in 2006 with the Atlanta Falcons, which originally made him the top pick in the NFL in 2001.

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From the initial game in 1934 through 1976, the annual Chicago College All-Star Game was a fan favorite and provided a glimpse into the new talent of NFL stars.

Imagine a crowd of 105,840 people turning out to watch an NFL preseason game. Probably wouldn’t happen today unless it included a cage match between Michael Vick and Adam “Pacman” Jones. However, for more than 40 years the Annual Chicago College All-Star Game was a fan favorite while helping establish the NFL as a premier sports league.

In the 1930s, the NFL was still a fledgling league looking for a foothold in a sports world where baseball and boxing were the kings.  In fact, professional football players were often seen as mercenaries while the college players were better known and more popular across the country.

A year after organizing the first Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Comiskey Park, Arch Ward, the sports editor for the Chicago Tribune, cultivated the idea of hosting an annual game between the defending NFL Champions and the best of the recently graduated college football stars.

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No player has been a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame more times than Jerry Kramer without getting into the Hall.

After two months of painstakingly looking at each position to determine which players that have been overlooked by the Pro Football Hall of Fame are the most deserving, it is finally time now, on the eve of the 2009 induction ceremonies, to look at the 10 players that I believe to be the most deserving of induction into the Hall of Fame, but who are still waiting for that call.

To create the top 10, I again reviewed all 225 players that had earned mention in the top 25 lists for each position. I then narrowed the field based on overall career performance, perception when they retired (where they considered at the time a Hall of Fame caliber player), team performance and accolades received.

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