Category: Sports

Trog‘s been posting about the country’s problems a lot lately. You know what could be a good distraction for that serious lad?

Brett Favre comeback speculation.

An awesome story:

Football fans know what happened in Super Bowl I. The game, which was played on January 15, 1967, was the first showdown between the NFL and AFL champions. It ended with the Green Bay Packers stomping the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10.

Unless they were one of the 61,946 people at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum that day, or one of the fans who watched it live on NBC or CBS, there’s one thing that all football fans have in common: They’ve never actually seen the game.

In a bizarre confluence of events, neither network preserved a tape. All that survived of this broadcast is sideline footage shot by NFL Films and roughly 30 seconds of footage CBS included in a pre-game show for Super Bowl XXV. Somehow, an historic football game that was seen by 26.8 million people had, for all intents and purposes, vanished.

….

The long search may finally be over. The Paley Center for Media in New York, which had searched for the game footage for some time, has restored what it believes to be a genuine copy of the CBS broadcast. The 94-minute tape, which has never been shown to the public, was donated to the center by its owner in return for having it restored. It was originally recorded on bulky two-inch video and had been stored in an attic in Pennsylvania for nearly 38 years, the Paley Center says.

Estimates are that it’s worth millions.

Enter the NFL.

Mr. Harwood, the attorney, says he contacted the NFL in 2005 about the tape. He says the league sent him a letter on Dec. 16, 2005 claiming the NFL was the exclusive owner of the copyright. Mr. Harwood says the NFL offered his client $30,000 for the tape and his client declined.

Geez, I realize that it’s a labor dispute year and the NFL owners have to plead poverty while building billion-dollar stadiums, but come on. $30,000?

Finally, a man has combined bowling with pool:

At nearly 30 feet long and 15 feet wide, the table and the hybrid game played on its surface — a combination of billiards and bowling that Steve calls “Knokkers” — are a culmination of an idea 25 years in the making.

They need to put a statue of this visionary in downtown Milwaukee right next to the statue of Fonzie.

Trog smells a conspiracy:

Could the Minnesota Viqueens be thinking of moving west?

Snow does not make roofs collapse. Google it!

An ESPN columnist asks:

Has anyone else noticed all the drama surrounding black quarterbacks during this NFL season?

Jason Campbell, who has been fighting for his job all season in Oakland, was benched for the second time this year against Pittsburgh on Sunday.

• Six-time Pro Bowler Donovan McNabb was replaced by Rex Grossman during the final 1:50 of a close game against the Detroit Lions earlier this month because Redskins coach Mike Shanahan claimed Grossman was better suited to run the team’s two-minute offense. Shanahan questioned McNabb’s “cardiovascular endurance.”

• And on Sunday, Titans coach Jeff Fisher demoted Vince Young to benchwarmer after Young threw a tantrum following Tennessee’s 19-16 loss to Washington. Although thumb surgery is the official reason Young’s season is over, Fisher made it clear before he knew the severity of Young’s injury that his 27-year-old quarterback was being removed as the starter.

No, sorry, I didn’t notice. I was too wrapped up in the Brett Favre/Brad Childress drama and the Little Brett/Hot Sideline Reporter drama.

Next question?

The people who snootily prefer soccer over other, more traditionally American sports, are internally consistent, as they tend to look down at other people who work with their hands, too.

(See also this post on Dustbury and its links.)

The Kansas City Royals are so desperate that they’re holding open tryouts at a city park.

There’s something very underdoggish about baseball teams that are often futile. I explained to my wife that the Royals are too often the direct object in the sports headlines (Dodgers Pound Royals, Oakland Shuts Down Royals, and so on), and the direct object teams don’t win pennants.

Here’s a touching story about how a high school football team gave up a shutout so that its opponent could have a Downs Syndrome running back get a touchdown:

So in the final stages of Benton’s third game of the season on Monday at Maryville, McCamy decided it was time for Ziesel — a 15-year-old freshman with Down syndrome — to make his season debut.

With about 10 seconds left in the game, and Benton trailing 46-0, McCamy called his final timeout, told an assistant coach to organize the team for the “Matt play” and ran across the field to the Maryville defensive huddle — and to some puzzled looks from the opposing players.

“I’ve got a special situation,” McCamy remembers telling Maryville freshman defensive coach David McEnaney. “I know you guys want to get a shutout. Most teams would want a shutout, but in this situation I want to know if maybe you can let one of my guys run in for a touchdown.”

Here’s the video:

Those kids on both teams (and the coaches) did a nice thing.

But you know what would make it even better for some people?

A compulsory government program to redistribute touchdowns from the teams who can play football to those who just try. And take 14 points from each good team each game just to run the program.

I know, I can’t leave a nice story alone. My comment doesn’t diminish the real story at all.

So the team I’m rooting for goes down big on a mistake or turnover, then fights its way back to take a small lead with very little time left, when suddenly the defense collapses and the opponents march down the field to score the winning touchdown, followed by my team turning the ball over in its last second desperation drive?

It felt like I was watching a Packers game.

Lance Armstrong returns to bike racing:

Lance Armstrong is welcome to compete in the 2009 Tour de France, Tour officials have told USA TODAY in an e-mail.

“Yes, if Lance will have a license and if he is in a team that we will choose for the Tour, L.A. (Lance Armstrong) will be at the start of the 2009’s Tour de France in Monaco the 4th of July,” race director Christian Prudhomme said.”But it’s a long way until July 2009.”

The bad news? He’s biking for the New York Jets.

Whatever the line is in Vegas that Aaron Rodgers breaks his throwing hand while giving high fives during the introduction tonight, be they like 10,000,000 to 1 or something like that, I’ll take that bet. I call him “Mr. Glass.”

The St. Louis Cardinals’ ninth inning pitcher, commonly called the closer, bears the name Isringhausen and the nickname “Izzy.”

I so move that the nickname be revised hereby to “Izzy Or Izzn’ty.”

Thank you, that is all.

Blues defenseman Jay McKee dissembles about the latest Blues loss:

“I feel bad for the teams that (Nashville) is battling with,” McKee said. “Those teams were counting on us tonight.”

Do you fellows have any more feel-bad in your tanks for the St. Louis Blues fans?

Uno the beagle retires from the show ring:

He was one of the greats in his sport, an underdog who was bred in Belleville and lived in a small Southern town who became a most popular champion. He thrilled fans by running around like a playful pup, until there was nothing left to prove. Last week, he bowed out.

So long, Uno the beagle.

Less than a month after winning best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club, his team made it official: America’s top dog has retired.

“If anyone could bark out signals like Brett Favre, it’s Uno,” David Frei, host of the Westminster television coverage, said Friday. “Like Brett, he did it all.”