Wow

Nick Saban has retired from Alabama. 

Pete Carroll was "moved upstairs" in Seattle. 

Bill Belichick "amicably" parted ways with the Patriots. 

In two very short days, the face of football has radically changed. 

My thanks to all of them. Well done. Enjoy your retirements/new jobs. 

On Aaron Rodgers injury and the moral failure of (too many) Wisconsinites

I don't think Wisconsin is hick or hillbilly or whatever other pejorative haters use to describe my home state. Granted, I'm from Milwaukee, which is hardly typical of what is a largely rural state, but still - Bleep the Haters. 

But I have to admit, the reaction here to Aaron Rodgers' season (and possibly career) ending injury in his first game in NY made me a little ashamed of my fellow Wisconsinites.

 While the rest of the NFL fandom, even those down in Chicago, were publicly reacting with well wishes and regret, here in Wisconsin local Facebook posts were filled with laugh-reacts and utter bulllshit. 

Bullshit like "I called it! He's always getting injured and leaving his team high and dry. He's a carton of eggs."

Really? Odd that he played 230 games for the Pack, (223 as a starter from 2008-2022), which breaks down to 14.5 games a year. 

Yeah, she responded, but he liked to play hurt and and sucked for the last five years. 

Well, Thats' so doofus-y it was barely worth responding to, but WTF lady, he earned back to back MVP's when you say he "sucked."

She did not reply again. 

Now, obviously there were plenty of people who thought/said the right things, and even more who didn't feel the need to comment in the first place. 

But then there were: 

#NotOurProblem

Sweet Little Drama Queen 

Karma

So glad you left the Pack

Maybe the Aliens he saw can fix him

The man gave you 15 seasons as a starter, a Super Bowl victory, multiple MVP's, and frankly, was often the only reason we were a marquee team.  And this is how you treat him? 

This is how you treat ANY human being that is injured so severely they may never play again? 

Shameful.

Jim Brown

 

Jim Brown, the only NFL rusher to average more than 100 yards per game for his career, and arguably the greatest player in NFL history, has died at 87.

 His playing career preceded my birth, and my memory of him is completely unrelated to his athletic life: I know him as Ruffo, the mercenary friend of Rod Taylor in the graphic 1968 action movie Dark of the Sun.  

 RIP

Apparently, it's Retirement Day

Tom Brady announces his retirement from the NFL (again). 

Dr. Phil announces he's retiring his show after 21 years on the air. 

And Ozzy Osbourne says he's done touring. 

They say things happen in threes . .  .

The End

That was a listless,  lousy way to end an emotional roller coaster of a season. 

Sigh. 

Prayers needed for Damar Hamlin

The NFL has temporarily suspended the Bills-Bengals Monday Night Football game after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field after what looked like a routine tackle .CPR was administered on the field and Hamlin was transported to the hospital.

 I can't imagine the game resuming tonight. 

Please offer your prayers for Hamlin and his family. 

Franco harris

Just two days before the 50th anniversary of one of the greatest plays in football history - The Immaculate Reception - the man responsible for that moment, Franco Harris, has passed away. 

Sometimes, a life is defined by what you do in only a handful of seconds. Franco rose to greatness in those seconds and enshrined himself in our memory. 

RIP

Mike Leach

 

Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach has died of heart issues at the age of 61. 

I remember him best - and almost exclusively - for his time at Texas Tech and their phenomenal November 1, 2008 win over Texas that knocked the Longhorns out of Championship contention. 

RIP sir.  

Can You Believe It????

Holy @#€% BAKER MAYFIELD!!!

What a game! 

#Cinderella #HollywoodStory

Thursday Night Football = Yawn

Last night was another awful night of football, with two largely incompetent teams  once again apparently competing to NOT score touchdowns. 

As a Packers fan I am content with the result last night (the Bears lost on what was admittedly an exciting final second play) but geesh.

Next week it's the undefeated Eagles vs the 4-1 Cowboys. Here's hoping it revives TNF.

The Big Ten expands - again

So the Big Ten is expanding again. In this day and age, the playoffs have rendered the Bowl system and inter-conference contests superfluous, so here come the super conferences. I admit they are quality schools, and I'm proud the conference is now coast-to-coast, BUT...

I do miss the days of the Big Ten being synonymous with the Midwest and corn-fed linemen who return to the farm each summer. 

Now, it stands for . . .  well, not much of anything in particular. 

My Thoughts (so far) on the USFL

So far, in its three week history, I've managed to catch the better part of two games and almost the full length of todays Tampa Bay-Houston game. I would have watched the whole thing, but the local station interrupted to spend half an hour talking about a potentially dangerous weather system SW of Milwaukee. If social media is to be believed, I missed a heck of an ending. Certainty the league thought so:

I was excited to hear that a professional, well funded summer football league would add to the available sports mix of my weekends. It's not the NFL, for sure, more the equivalent of watching AAA teams in baseball, but whatever; it's still football. And the game play IS improving, with today's game a doozy.

I'm not a fan of the saturation of mic'd up officials, players, and coaches, all being broadcast in real-time. At some point it stops being information and descends into white noise. You can eventually tune it out, but it grates on you, it really does.

I wish the USFL success and a long tenure. Give it a watch!

The "Replay" Game - Packers/Bears November 5th, 1989

I remember watching this game in my family's living room and my Mom being excited because it had forever since the Packers had swept the Bears. What a great season, and what a great end to that game!

[One thing tho: the Pack moved ahead with 32 seconds left, and the game was all but over. Nowadays? 32 seconds is a lifetime in the NFL]

Cincinnati is Super Bowl bound!

 

Whooohooo! Congratulations to Cincinnati on a historic victory! Welcome to the Super Bowl Joe Burrow!!!!

 thinking about the time Donald Driver came through Mitchell airport (where i worked at the time) and i had no idea who he was but still asked for an autograph - YaYa

Dan Reeves

Legendary Broncos coach Dan Reeves has died. RIP. 

The NFL reallllly doesn't want KC to miss the playoffs.

Ruh Oh!

Marty Schottenheimer

 RIP to a great coach, even without a ring.

MVP

 Congrats!