Other Stuff 05.03.2006....

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From Gruden....

Stanford rookie defensive tackle Julian Jenkins said he was inspired by being assigned No.99 for the minicamp. "I don't know if he'll wear 99," Gruden said. "I'm going to be pretty selective whoever I give that number to. If I get married again, (Warren Sapp ) will be my best man. I love that guy."
 
Angry Pope said:
Here is a video of the AFC Wildcard game against the Houston Oilers in 1980...

Hit it here...
I was at that game with my Dad. One of my fondest memories. The first Wild Card team to win a Super Bowl in NFL History! ;)
 
You know what? Peploe say Stabler couldn't throw the ball deep, didn't have a strong arm...BS. take a look at that clip and you'll see some nice passing from the Snake!
 
I don't know how the date on it...


What Happen To....

George Blanda


Q: What was it like playing for the Silver and Black?

George Blanda: It was a great experience for me coming from a team similar when I came from the Bears. It was a tough, hard-nosed team. Playing for the Raiders was a thrill because I was on my last leg, I was 40 years old when I went to play with the Raiders. We had a lot of new people coming in at the same time, Daryle Lamonica, Willie Brown and Tom Keating. We had a great chemistry and we started a great tradition because we started winning immediately and we went 13-1 that season and went to the Super Bowl.

Q: What was your greatest memory of playing for the Raiders?

George Blanda: The game that I remember the most was playing against Cleveland in 1970. We were down 20-13 and I came in and we got a touchdown and then we got a field goal in the last three seconds. We scored 10 points in the last minute to win the game and we won 23-20. We had a lot of great games that I can remember, I remember Lamonica throwing a lot of long bombs to beat Kansas City 41-7.

Q: Who were your coaches and how did they help you succeed in your professional career?

George Blanda: John Madden was quite a coach to play for, he was very dynamic. He was interesting, articulate and a great motivator. He would get up and analyze what to look for and how to look for things with the same intensity as he does on television today.

Q: Who were some of your favorite teammates?

George Blanda: I liked everyone of them, we had 36 guys on the team back then and for us to all to pull together and win it made it a lot of fun. Pete Banaszak was one of my closest friends on the team, we lived close together so he and my wife were close. Daryle Lamonica, Fred Biletnikoff and Gene Upshaw were also close friends, I wouldn’t exclude anybody on the team though they were all good friends.

Q: Do you still talk with former teammates?

George Blanda: I run into some of them from time to time, I saw Ben Davidson and Otis Sistrunk at a golf tournament. I see Ted Hendricks and Pete Banazak quite often. I get to visit with a lot of former teammates when I go to Raider games as well.

Q: How did you become a member of the Raiders?

George Blanda: The Oilers released me and I think most teams thought I was retired. Mr. Davis picked me up once I was put on waivers and that’s the way it happened.

Q: What do you do now since you have retired?

George Blanda: I live in Chicago for six months and in Palm Springs for six months so I play a lot of golf. I enjoy going to the race track to watch the horses run from time to time and my wife and I travel quite a bit. I still love to go to games. I probably watch as much football as anybody except for coaches, I really love to watch the games.
 
Jerry Rice to enter College Hall Of Fame....

Gagliardi, Ric highlight Hall of Fame divisional class

Associated Press

MORRISTOWN, N.J. - NFL great Jerry Rice and college football's all-time winningest coach, John Gagliardi of St. John's University in Minnesota, were among seven new members to join the divisional class of the College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

The group, to be enshrined at the hall on Aug. 11-12 in South Bend, Ind., also includes defensive back Kevin Dent of Jackson State, quarterback John Friesz of Idaho, receiver Ronnie Mallett of Central Arkansas and coaches Dick Farley of Williams (Mass.) and Vernon "Skip" McCain of Maryland State.

The divisional class considers players and coaches from NCAA Divisions I-AA, II, III and the NAIA.

Rice starred at Mississippi Valley State from 1981-84, finishing with 310 career receptions, 4,856 receiving yards and 51 touchdowns. Drafted in the first round by the San Francisco 49ers, he was selected for the Pro Bowl 13 times, won three Super Bowls and broke virtually every receiving record. His NFL totals exceed 1,500 receptions, 22,000 receiving yards and 200 touchdowns.

Gagliardi has a 432-118-11 record at Carroll College (Mont.) from 1949-52 and St. John's University from 1953-present. His 57 coaching seasons tie him with fellow Hall of Famer Amos Alonzo Staggs for most seasons coached. Gagliardi's teams have won four national championships and 27 conference titles. Only two of his teams had losing records, and none since 1967.

A three-time Sheridan Black College National Defensive Player of the Year, Dent led the nation in interceptions in 1986 and currently ranks among the top 25 in NCAA Division I-AA history with 21 career picks.

Friesz twice led the nation in passing and received the 1989 Walter Payton Award as Division I-AAs National Player of the Year. With over 10,000 career passing yards, he ranks among the top 20 in Division I-AA history. He played 10 seasons in the NFL.

A three-time All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference selection, Mallett shattered numerous receiving records, many of which he still holds. Among them: single-game receiving yards (242), career touchdown receptions (30) and career receiving yards (2,649).

Farley posted a 114-19-3 record between 1987-03 at the Division III school. Williams did not have a losing season on his watch, recording 128 consecutive games without back-to-back losses. His .849 win percentage ranks sixth among coaches in all divisions.

McCain had a 102-21-5 mark from 1948-63 at Maryland State, which during that span was a football power among historically black colleges. His teams won four Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles and never had a losing season. He is one of only 28 coaches in college football to have a winning percentage greater than .800 among those who have coached at least nine seasons.
 
Nice finds AP. You're on a roll today!

Thanks as always for al lthe great information. This is marvelous! :D
 
John Madden, one nice guy....

Bumping into an NFL legend

By R.B. HEADLEY
Times Sports Editor

Between the NFL draft and swirling controversies about Denver's Ashley Lelie suggesting he may sit out a season, I've realized football is never out of season because stories like these always get headlines.

It also reaffirms just how interesting conversations with pro athletes can be, especially when it's a childhood hero...

"Did you ever consider a Sumo wrestling career? You lost how many playoff games to the Pittsburgh Steelers? Did you ever secretly go double-dating with the Denver Broncos' "Barrel Man"? Who styles your hair? Do you even comb your hair? Are there any other TV jobs available for well-rounded, football-obsessed blithering media geeks?"

Those were just a few questions racing through my mind as I sped (only about 60 MPH) through another lovely rural mountain town. Forget the silly stop signs. Forget the one stop light or occasional frightened child. I've always admired the friendliness of local residents, but there was no time to exchange all those "You're No. 1" signs being flashed in my direction.

Nothing was stopping me from meeting NFL coaching legend, video-game guru and my personal fitness role model....the great Mr. John Madden.

Believe it or not, Big John almost didn't get the pleasure of meeting me. It was just another typical Tuesday morning at the old nuthou...uhh, newspaper.

News reporters were pursuing hard-hitting stories and trading insults. Editors created wonderful eye-catching page designs while muttering about something called a deadline.

Meanwhile, I was stuck on some silly transitional phrase and wondering whether anyone brought doughnuts. My "concentration" was suddenly broken by one of those annoying ringing telephones.

"Hey, honey!!" the managing editor said to either his wife or some female fan. "What?! He's really here? I guess that's worth checking out."

Great. The local beer-truck driver had accepted an offer to replace me. Oh well, I already most of my stolen pens and survival food (synonym for extra Twinkies) packed in a spare box. Time to head for the door...

"Hey, Headcheese (another professional name), someone spotted the Madden Cruiser in the Arby's parking lot. So get out of here."

While hustling/stumbling into this familiar food haven, I expected to see a large crowd hovering around the infamous former Oakland Raiders coach.

Instead, there was only a small group of rather large men -- including one super-sized fellow sitting alone in his own personal booth. This scruffy individual slumped over something resembling a chicken sandwich as I can identify almost any food within 100 meters.

No Super Bowl rings or Fox-TV apparel were on display. Yet I instantly recognized this companion of most good weekend couch potatoes...

"Uhhhh, Mr. Madden? I'm from the local newspaper. I'd like to take your photo. I'll try not to bother you too much."

I politely crouched...whoops, lost my balance. I politely TRIED to crouch in front of this TV celebrity to take a handsome profile shot...

"HEY!!! WHAT THE HE....(synonym for coach Barnett's last three games at CU)!!

The legend known as Madden had suddenly looked up to reveal a very irritated face. Kind of like the Raiders logo without an eyepatch.

However, my dog-eat-dog journalistic attitude allowed me to still try and take that picture...

"HEY!!! What do you think you're doing!?!"

Chicken particles and other unsavory items were nearly dribbling from Big John's mouth. The other large men quietly chuckled, especially when his next line stung worse than a loose hot meatball that bounces off your bare belly...

"You come over here and bother me! Then you say you aren't going to bother me! Then you START BOTHERING ME AGAIN!!"

I promptly retaliated with several seconds of impressive, word-free brainlock. My only thoughts were "Wow, I finally meet one of my favorite people from the world's all-time greatest game..and now he's going to drop-kick me like the 1960s Denver Broncos."

At that moment, the Emmy award-winning broadcaster must have realized I was crumbling faster than Ricky Williams' fantasy league value. He almost smiled and mumbled something like "at least sit down here and let me finish eating."

I offered another blank stare as Madden removed the top bun from his sandwich and plopped it on a tray.

Could once-in-a-lifetime meetings get any better than this?

Finally, after noting my disturbing fixation on half-eaten meals, Big John decided it was time to strike up some semblance of a conversation.

We began discussing a variety of topics from football to last week's football action to movies about football to whether I excelled at football (yow, had he been drinking something other than Mr. Pibb?).

However, the ice was broken and I even became brave enough to mention how his despicable Raiders had mutilated my beloved Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI.

It turned me into one bawling, blabbering idiot -- a process which (of course) has never been repeated during these past 30 years of Viqueen fandom.

"You should have started crying in the second quarter," a totally unsympathetic Madden remarked. "Your guys never had a chance against us."

Come on, 32-14 was one of the Vikings' closest Super Bowls ever.

Anyhoo, I offered a few nervous giggles and calmly devoured two of his curly fries. Moments later, the now friendly Madden provided a brief tour of his famous Madden Cruiser. Big-screen TV, full-sized kitchen, satellite technology to pick up any football telecast....not a bad way to travel!

Finally -- as our quality time drew to a conclusion -- I offered some emotional farewells like "ride safely, buddy, and I'll see you when I'm covering the NFL someday."

Long awkward pause.

"Yeah, right...sure, good luck."
 
Dang it AP......hard to beat you to anything about the Raiders!! ;)
 
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