Fans bid NFL all-stars a fond farewell today
After a successful 30-year run, the Pro Bowl today may be making its final appearance here, leaving behind fans and workers who developed a special relationship with the National Football League's all-star game.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wants to return here someday, but there are several issues that need addressing before that will happen, including major repairs at aging Aloha Stadium. That's bad news for local football fans who have flocked to the game since it moved to Oahu from Los Angeles in 1980.
From the security guard who makes sure the players are safe to the small fan clutching his program in hopes of getting an autograph, this game has touched many lives in the island chain. For them, the game will be missed.
From the avid memorabilia collector who goes to practice with Sharpie and mini-helmet in hand, to the contract hires who work alongside some of the world's most finely tuned athletes, the Pro Bowl affects a wide range of Hawaii lives.
That's what makes the National Football League all-star game's imminent departure to Miami next year so painful for many of those watching today's closing act at Aloha Stadium. After 30 consecutive appearances, the Pro Bowl show will fold its tent and return to the mainland for the first time since 1979.
Talk to those who have been closely involved with this game that highlights the NFL's best players and they'll rattle off story after story about what they will remember most.
"I always like the finishes," said "Super Bowl" Wayne LaVelle, a Michigan native who relocated to Hawaii more than 20 years ago. He eventually joined Russ Francis at Honolulu's first all-sports radio station, KGU-AM 760.
"How about that Oakland quarterback?" LaVelle asked. "Boy did I like Rich Gannon" (voted the game's MVP in 2001 and '02). "The best part I like is when they give away the car (to the Pro Bowl MVP following the game). It's just so much fun."
LaVelle epitomizes the excitement fans feel when given the chance to witness the world's best gather on one stage.
"It's the fourth quarter, and all of a sudden they're fighting for $20,000 more (the bonus a player receives if he is a member of the winning squad) because their wife just went out and bought a new car. They need that $20,000 and you hear those pads poppin'!" said LaVelle, who lost count of the number of Pro Bowls he has attended after he got to 20.
One of the game's most important byproducts is the positive effect on the state's economy. Following the 2006 Pro Bowl, the Hawaii Tourism Authority released a report in which it surveyed 407 visitors in order to better determine how the all-star game affects the local economy.
Not only did an estimated 27,000 visitors come from out of state to take in the game, but those tourists also generated an estimated $33.26 million in spending, and $3.23 million in state taxes, according to the report.
One such beneficiary of the NFL's annual trek to Oahu is John Alvarado. He is currently unemployed, but picked up a job as a security guard assigned to the Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa, where the Pro Bowl players and NFL staff are headquartered. It helped him "get some side money" in a time where jobs are scarce.
"It's pretty cool. It's the first time I've been close to someone who makes this much money," Alvarado said of the NFL players, including New York Giants kicker John Carney, who asked the security guard for brief scouting reports on the opposition.
"I don't really keep up with football, so (losing the game) won't be a big thing for me," Alvarado said. "But after working here, I was going to follow up (with the NFL), and was looking forward to working here again."
Kaiser High School athletic trainer Ted Morikawa is another behind-the-scenes man of the Pro Bowl. He was selected by George Kamau, director of operations for the Pro Bowl, in 1995 along with a handful of fellow trainers, and has aided the NFL staff ever since.
"It's pretty awesome," Morikawa said. "There are no professional teams down here, so it's great for us to see a different level of play, (and observe) how the trainers and staff operate things. It's a great opportunity for the public to see professional players.
"It goes without saying that it's extremely important" that Hawaii gets the Pro Bowl back in the near future, Morikawa said. "The public as well as the players look forward to it, and it's not like we can drive to another state to see a professional game. This is the only chance locals have."
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is in town for the game and its festivities, and according to LaVelle, the league could consider not only moving the Pro Bowl back to Hawaii, but also maybe even hold a Super Bowl here. But that's more wishful thinking than anything else.
"I'm really optimistic because I've talked to the players, and most want to come so people can bring their families and have fun," LaVelle said about the possibility of the Pro Bowl's return to the Islands. "I just talked to Steve Smith (wide receiver) with the Carolina Panthers, he has his whole family here, and he said, 'I'm going swimming with my son - that's what we like. We want to come back here.'"
Copyright (c) 2009 starbulletin.com
Super Bowl XLIII: As Good As Any Ever
The query is sure to be thrown around.
Was that the best Super Bowl game ever played?
If it wasn't definitively, an argument can be made that it definitively was, and at the very least, it was as good as any ever.
Cardinals-Steelers couldn't have matched Giants-Patriots in terms of historical scope, even if the long suffering Cards had won. Super Bowl XLII had more at stake. But in terms of sheer, pound-for-pound excitement, it can't possibly be surpassed. It was truly a football game to behold.
It had it all.
We had Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald giving heroic performances in a crushing loss, the Cardinals' quarterback earning his Canton bust despite the outcome, the Cardinals' receiver taking over the fourth quarter as only he and a handful of receivers in the history of the league could.
But then we had MVP Santonio Holmes matching Fitzgerald step-for-step, catching four passes on the Steelers' game-winning drive, including the touchdown, then celebrating by mimicking LeBron James' famous pre-game ritual (the gesture lost on Madden and Michaels).
Before Sunday's kickoff, anybody who said that Ben Roethlisberger wasn't a great quarterback was merely mistaken; Now, they just look foolish.
We had a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown, a ton of penalties (none of which proved to be too costly), and an improbable rally by the underdog that sent one fan base into a temporary catatonic state, followed by an immediate response that will permanently damage another.
My heart was pounding and my city doesn't even have a professional football team; for Cardinals and Steelers fans, the unfolding drama must have been nearly unbearable.
Mixed in between we even had a few memorable commercials.
Warner has now recorded the top three single-game passage yardage performances in Super Bowl history. He has led two teams to the Big Game, one of them the NFL's version of the Los Angeles Clippers, and he nearly won it for them.
In this one, Warner finished 31-of-43 for 377 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception, rallied his team back from a 20-7 fourth quarter deficit against the league's best defense to set his team up for the upset, and cemented his place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
His playmate Fitzgerald provided further proof to the adage that you can't keep a good man down for long, dominating the fourth quarter after being held in check for the first three. His line: seven catches for 127 yards and two scores, both of them in the final frame. We may call him the best football player alive.
Timeout
My favorite commercials of the night:
3. Cars.com: David Abernathy - At childbirth, David congratulates the doctor on a perfect delivery with a handshake (among other impressive feats, but he still can't decide on a car any better than the rest of us can).
2. Pepsi Max: I'm Good - No matter what unfortunate accident befalls man - whether it be getting hit with a backswing, having a bowling ball dropped on their head, or being electrocuted and ejected from the top of a ladder and violently slammed off the side of a truck - he can take it. What they couldn't take is "the taste of diet Cola - until now."
1. E*Trade: Talking Baby - You know, the business savvy (not to mention absolutely adorable) little baby at the computer who gives investment tips. This time he's joined by a friend, who blesses us with a little rendition of the song "Broken Wings," which was once sampled on a posthumous Tupac track.
Time in
We all knew that Holmes was a very good young receiver and dangerous deep threat, but I, for one, had no idea he was capable of taking over the last three minutes of the freaking Super Bowl. He finished with nine catches for 131 yards and the season's winning touchdown reception.
Holmes may never be as dominant, at least on a consistent basis, as he was in the pressure-cooked moments of Sunday night's affair, but for at least one evening he was legendary.
On NBC's pregame telecast, guest analyst Rodney Harrison stated that Roethlisberger was not a great quarterback, but a great football player, which could possibly be interpreted as a backhanded compliment.
But John Elway wasn't really a great quarterback, either, in the pure pocket-passer sense - at least not as a young player, as all of his best throwing seasons came after the age of 32.
And besides, everyone seems to be ignoring a strong mitigating factor in the whole "Ben's not that really that good," "Ben's a game-manager," and "Ben's Troy Aikman in black and yellow" (another back-handed compliment) case: in 2007, Ben threw for 32 touchdowns and only 11 picks, for a stellar (by any standard) 104.1 QB rating.
When you add in the fact that he just won his second Super Bowl before the age of 27, by leading his team downfield at the end of the game in a Tom Brady-like manner (though not as stoically and coldly cool), it's safe to say that not only is he a great football player, he's a great quarterback, as well.
When Arizona made their unlikely comeback to take the lead in the fourth, I thought to myself that maybe I was right, that the Cards, underdogs four weeks in a row, really were a team of destiny.
But how many times have we seen a team make a furious rally to gain the lead in the fourth quarter of a football game, only for the other team to respond on the ensuing drive and win in the end, anyway?
We saw it just two weeks ago, in the NFC Championship Game, with the Cardinals on the other end of the equation.
And one of the best games of this past college football season was Texas at Texas Tech, when the Longhorns gamely fought back against the Red Raiders, took the lead, then got their hearts ripped out in the end.
I was prepared for either scenario to be the final story of the game. Obviously, it was the latter.
Now, the night belongs to history.
It was one to remember.
Copyright (c) 2009 Bleacher Report, Inc
Area man helps Super Bowl team
If you're still undecided as to who to root for in this Sunday's Super Bowl then allow me to introduce you to one good reason to be a Cardinals' fan.
I know there are a lot of Steelers fans here in Del Rio, so I apologize to them in advance. It's not that your team's not great or undeserving to be in the big game, but I'm rooting for the Cardinals for two reasons.
First, how weird would it be to say, "Arizona Cardinals: NFL Champions."
Second, the Cardinals have been the NFL home of a young man from this area.
Eduardo Castaneda is a 6-3, 253 pound linebacker who played college football at Monterrey Tech in Mexico. His hometown is Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila, Mexico.
I first heard about Castaneda several months ago. Folks were telling me about this former Vaqueros player who was in the NFL. Now I know how stories can get out of hand and slight truths, like a player attending a tryout, can be stretched into full blown misinformation. So armed with that I didn't really pay much mind to the story.
But here lately, with the Cardinals' recent success, I decided to see if it was true.
Sure enough, the 26-year-old's bio can be found on the Cardinals' official website, azcardinals.com, and on NFL.com. How 'bout that?
So here's what I learned about Mr. Castaneda:
-- Played with the Vaqueros beginning at age 10.
-- Played at Monterrey Tech from 2003 to 2006.
-- Played in the NFL Europa (the old World League) with the Rhein Fire before being picked up by the Houston Texans as part of their practice squad in 2007.
-- Joined the Cardinals' practice squad in June 2008 as part of the NFL's International Practice Squad program, which is part of the league's drive to spread the NFL message of sport and community throughout the world.
Now Castaneda has never appeared in an NFL regular season game. As a member of the scout team his job is to prepare the starters and official roster players for their opponents in the upcoming week. Because he's a linebacker he'll emulate other linebackers and try to use their skill sets to ensure the offensive linemen and backs now what to do in particular situations.
Scout squad players can eventually make it to the full-time roster, but it's not easy to do. Last year Sports Illustrated did a story on players from the Detroit Lions' squad and it really showed the lengths a person will go to remain a part of a game they love so much.
I don't know if Castaneda will be in Tampa Bay Sunday for the game or if he gets a ring should the Cardinals win it all. All I know is that a person from Acuna helped the Cardinals reach the Super Bowl.
(c)2009 Del Rio News-Herald
Steelers Super Bowl Bound
Troy Polamalu's 40-yard interception return for a touchdown with 4:24 remaining in the fourth quarter sealed Pittsburgh's 23-14 AFC Championship Game win over Baltimore and catapulted the Steelers to their seventh Super Bowl appearance.
Ben Roethlisberger completed 16-of-33 passes for 255 yards and a score as the Steelers (14-4), moved ahead to take on NFC champion Arizona February 1 in Tampa, Florida. The Cardinals topped Philadelphia, 32-25, earlier Sunday in the NFC title game.
Jeff Reed kicked three field goals for Pittsburgh and Santonio Holmes scored on a 65-yard catch-and-run play in the first half.
Pittsburgh will face off against the Cardinals and head coach Ken Whisenhunt next in Super Bowl XLIII. Whisenhunt was the tight ends coach for Pittsburgh (2001-03) and the offensive coordinator (2004-06) for the Steelers.
The Steelers, who beat Seattle three years ago in the Super Bowl, forced three turnovers in the final quarter and managed to top the Ravens for the third time this season.
"This is a 12-round slugfest," said Roethlisberger. "It's always these two teams and we always go at it. It's always violent from start to finish."
Rookie quarterback Joe Flacco finished 13-of-30 passing for 141 yards and three interceptions for the Ravens (13-6). Willis McGahee ran 20 times or 60 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but was carted off the field on a stretcher late in the fourth quarter after a violent collision with Pittsburgh safety Ryan Clark. McGahee was expected to stay in a local hospital overnight for observation.
"I'm not going to sit here and say Joe didn't play a certain way," said Ravens coach John Harbaugh. "Joe went out there and competed, battled, fought and tried to find a way to win a football game. I certainly have no complaints about that."
The Steelers lost one of their main offensive weapons in the first half, as wide receiver Hines Ward suffered a right knee injury.
Pittsburgh, going after its sixth Super Bowl title, will now face a team that will play in its first Super Bowl contest. Also, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, age 36, is the youngest head coach to lead his team to a Super Bowl.
"We respect this process, but I told that group we have miles to go before we sleep," said Tomlin. "We're excited about meeting those challenges and we'll prepare like we always do."
The Steelers expanded their lead to 16-7 with 3:38 remaining in the third quarter on Reed's 46-yard field goal. The key play during the drive was a 30-yard strike from Roethlisberger to tight end Heath Miller on a 2nd-and-24 play to move the ball to the Baltimore 40.
After being stymied throughout the third quarter, the Ravens cut the deficit to two points on McGahee's one-yard run with 9:29 remaining in the game. The run to the right came immediately after Ike Taylor was called for pass interference in the end zone for face-guarding Marcus Smith.
Baltimore's defense then came up big, forcing a punt, but the Ravens were pinned at their own 14. Five plays later, on a 3rd-and-13 from the 29, Flacco was hit from behind and Polamalu picked off a pass and cut to the right side of the field, picking up blocks along the way before surging to the end zone to set off a wild scene at a frigid Heinz Field.
"All 11 guys on defense have a responsibility and I was just doing my responsibility the best I could," said Polamalu. "It wasn't any tendency I was reading into. I was just playing my position."
With 3:29 remaining, McGahee caught a short pass over the middle and Clark came up to make a helmet-to-helmet hit. McGahee fumbled the ball away and Clark finally got to his feet and went to the Pittsburgh bench, but McGahee remained on the ground until medical personnel immobilized his head, assisted him to a stretcher before he was taken off the field.
Flacco was later picked off by Tyrone Carter with 1:11 remaining to seal Baltimore's fate.
"I think when you make it to this point, no matter what your season has been like, and no matter how hard you fought, you're going to be disappointed to lose this game and see the other team go to the Super Bowl," said Flacco. "You have tip your hat to those guys. They played tough all year."
The Steelers received the game's opening kickoff and Roethlisberger hit Ward with a huge 45-yard gain to the Baltimore 23 on a 3rd-and-12 play. That set up Reed's 34-yard field goal.
Flacco was picked off by Deshea Townsend later in the first quarter, as the Steelers took over at the Baltimore 35. Reed connected from 42 yards away with 6:11 remaining in the period. Earlier in the drive, Holmes seemingly caught a pass on a dive near the goal line, but the call was reversed after a challenge from the Ravens.
Ray Lewis forced a turnover later in the first quarter, stripping Willie Parker of the ball. Jim Leonhard came up with the recovery at the Pittsburgh 43, but the Ravens failed to get a first down as Flacco was stacked up on a fourth down sneak call inside of a minute left.
Just two plays into the second quarter Roethlisberger scrambled before lofting the ball to Holmes, who made the catch on the right side, darted between defenders before diving for the left pylon to complete a 65-yard touchdown connection.
The Ravens finally got their initial first down with under 13 minutes left in the half, but despite marching from their 12 they were forced to punt just past midfield.
Baltimore finally cracked the scoreboard with 2:40 remaining in the half thanks to McGahee's three-yard TD run off left guard. The Ravens were set up at the Pittsburgh 17 after Leonhard's 45-yard punt return, and McGahee was in the end zone a short time later.
The Ravens caught a couple of breaks in the final minute of the half to keep it a 13-7 contest. First, Limas Sweed dropped a sure touchdown throw from Roethlisberger and was hurt on the play, as the Steelers were charged their final timeout. Ravens tight end Edgar Jones was whistled for a roughing-the- punter penalty despite not touching Mitch Berger, but time eventually ran out on the Steelers. Roethlisberger hit Mewelde Moore, but he failed to get out of bounds and Pittsburgh's QB couldn't down the ball before the clock reached zeroes.
Final Score: Pittsburgh 23, Baltimore 14
Site Copyright 2008 - Eye On Gambling
NFL Demands That Fun Be Banned from Sports
The more and more I watch the NFL, the more and more I realize that Roger Goodell doesn't have a clue what would make the game better, ratings better, and the league more profitable.
Everyone hears the NFL referred to as the "No Fun League," and watching everything that gets called as "Excessive Demonstration," shows me that that phrase is exactly right.
So here is my question. What determines what is really "excessive?"
I know that the idea of choreographed, prop-laden, multiple person, line dancing is what they're trying to eliminate, but seriously, why?
I am someone, along with many I know and hear from on a national media level, that is something that adds to the entertainment factor of the game. And believe it or not, entertainment makes money! Hell, if someone gets a degree in broadcasting, like myself, they teach you two things right off the bat: "If It Bleeds, It Leads" and "Sex Sells".
How does that have any bearing on the "overly-excessive" celebrating we see after a touchdown? It is all a matter of how you look at it.
Let me point out one advertisement that is all over the NFL. It is a commercial for GoDaddy.com, staring WWE Diva, Candice Michelle. Since the first one back during Super Bowl XLII, she has worn nearly no clothes, and flaunted her "talents" all over the screens of America.
Am I complaining? No! Just keep reading!
Anyway, commercials like this are all over television, and in the sporting world, primarily in the NFL. In the league that allows that, it cannot allow Terrell Owens to grab a couple of pom-poms and dance a little jig?
Seriously?!
Does the NFL remember back when Jamal Anderson created the "Dirty Bird," and how insanely popular it became all across the NFL "Fanation?" What about the "Ickey Shuffle?" Or one of my favorites, spinning the football in the end-zone and several members of the team warming their hands? What about Deion Sanders' dance that has been imitated by NFL players today?
These are what is called entertainment and fun. I know it is a difficult concept to learn, but that is what it is.
Instead, they call anything that might be a celebration with a teammate a foul, and knock-off 15 yards. They must seriously want players to score a touchdown, and quietly walk to the bench while being golf-clapped by the fans.
This must be their mind-set, "Any ruckus could be bad for our image! I mean the poor golf fans are being taken over by 'Get in the hole!' chants, we must preserve our perfectly boring image and keep old, cranky, unhappy, people happy with absolutely no fun whatsoever! Quick call that foul! Hrumph! Hrumph! Hrumph!"
What the NFL needs to do is crack down on things that matter. Crack down more on dangerous collisions that can end people's careers and cause paralysis, crack down on steriod use, crack down on things that make the game look bad, but quit taking things away that cause the NFL to lose it's ability to be entertaining.
Quit policing what you personally feel is "entertaining," and let the fans decide. Remember, Roger Goodie-two-shoes-ell, we're the ones who pay for this, we're the ones you should make happy.
Copyright (c) 2008 Bleacher Report, Inc
Ravens make Chad look bad with 4 picks
MIAMI -- The Baltimore Ravens had Chad Pennington spinning, ducking, on his heels and on his back. When he did get a pass away, they were often there to snatch it.
The Ravens came up with four interceptions, including one returned 64 yards for a touchdown by Ed Reed, and won 27-9 on Sunday to spoil the Miami Dolphins' first playoff game in seven seasons.
Baltimore stuffed Miami's ground attack and negated the ''wildcat,'' but most of all, the Ravens harried Pennington into uncharacteristic mistakes. After throwing only seven interceptions during the regular season, he had four during a 22-minute flurry midway through the game.
''We heard all week that they don't turn the ball over,'' linebacker Ray Lewis said. ''But we force turnovers.''
With a rookie coach in John Harbaugh and a rookie quarterback in Joe Flacco, wild-card entrant Baltimore (12-5) won for the 10th time in 12 games and will play Saturday at AFC South champion Tennessee.
The playoff victory was the first for the Ravens since they beat Miami in a first-round game in January 2002. The result put the brakes on this season's remarkable resurgence by the Dolphins (11-6), who won the AFC East after going 1-15 in 2007.
''It has been a special year; that's why it hurts so much,'' Pennington said. ''You want to keep it going and see how far you can take it.''
A soft schedule contributed to Miami's turnaround, and there was nothing soft about the Ravens. They forced repeated mistakes by a team that tied an NFL record with only 13 turnovers during the regular season.
Reed had two interceptions, and Jim Leonhard and Fabian Washington made one apiece. Terrell Suggs recovered a fumble by Patrick Cobbs early in the second half at the Miami 19, and four plays later, Le'Ron McClain scored on an eight-yard run for a 20-3 lead.
Pennington, playing his first game since being chosen the NFL Comeback Player of the Year, was sacked three times and faced constant pressure.
Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga said after the game that Bill Parcells has decided to remain for another season. Parcells' contract allows him to leave and still receive the $9 million-$12 million left on his four-year contract if the franchise is sold. That sale is expected to be completed soon.
But Huizenga said Parcells told him Friday he plans to remain as executive vice president of football operations.
(c)Copyright 2009 Digital Chicago, Inc
Giants Picked for Super Bowl Repeat, Oddsmakers Say
Dec. 29 (Bloomberg) -- The New York Giants are favored to repeat as Super Bowl champions over the other postseason-bound teams in the National Football League, according to Las Vegas oddsmakers.
The Giants, the top seed in the National Football Conference, are 2-1 favorites among the 12 playoff teams, according to Las Vegas Sports Consultants, which advises casinos on betting lines.
The Tennessee Titans, who had the league's best record at 13-3, are the favorite among American Football Conference teams at 4-1.
The Giants' playoff opponents aren't as good as the AFC playoffs teams, giving them an easier trip to the title game, said Mike Seba, Sports Consultants' senior oddsmaker.
"It's not because they're so much better, their path to get to the Super Bowl is easier," Seba said. "Plus, they are the defending champs."
The Giants will face either the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons or Philadelphia Eagles to reach the NFC title game. The Cardinals have the longest odds at 40-1. In the AFC, top seed Tennessee will host either Baltimore, San Diego or Indianapolis.
The New England Patriots (3-2) and Dallas Cowboys (2-1), both favorites to reach the Super Bowl coming into the season, failed to make the playoffs. The Miami Dolphins (100-1) and Atlanta Falcons (75-1) -- the two longest shots in preseason odds -- both made the postseason. Atlanta has 15-1 odds to win the Super Bowl, while Miami is 30-1.
(c)2008 BLOOMBERG L.P.
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