2011-12 Indianapolis Colts: 5 Predictions That Will Define Bold for This Season - Bleacher Report

By (Member) on July 16, 2011

The 2010-11 Indianapolis Colts were a miracle defined.

A miracle in the sense that it took one of those just to get the Colts where they finished, 10-6, and a first round playoff exit to the New York Jets. Not exactly a great moment, and I know losing to the Jets has not yet stopped stinging.

When you consider the obstacles and the numerous injuries the Colts endured all season long, it would be generous to say last season was barely a success.  For the Colts and their fans, it did not meet expectations they had for themselves entering the 2010-11 season as the defending AFC Champions.

I believe there were too many things they had to overcome and too many omens.  The thought of some sort of Super Bowl hangover was consistently on the minds of Colts fans throughout last year.

However, the past is the past, and I personally am beyond excitement for this upcoming season, for a number of reasons. 

I have sat and speculated for hours on how this season could truly be something special.

Thus, in this, my inaugural article, I present to you readers 5 reasons why this season is going to be special. These are the things the average Colts fan will think about, but be afraid to say out loud.

I am here to be the first to say them.

Many might say these are outlandish theories.  But when the Super Bowl is over and done with, you will all be witness and will remember who said it first.

With that being said, here are my 5 "boldest of the bold" predictions for a season that will culminate in victory on February 5, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

1. Anthony Castonzo Will Make the Pro Bowl in His Rookie Year

With the 22nd overall selection in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, the Indianapolis Colts selected Offensive Tackle Anthony Castonzo from Boston College.

This is going to be one of those "remember when" moments.

Castonzo, at 6'7" and 311lb is not only a massive physical specimen, he happens to be highly intelligent.

During his time at Boston College he majored in Bio-Chemistry and was a Rhodes Scholar, widely considered to be one of the most prestigious scholarships in the world.

With his physical and intellectual talents put to task, it will quickly become evident that Castonzo is prepared.  He will excel in the tutelage he receives from two of the game's best—future Hall Of Fame Center Jeff Saturday, and of course, Peyton Manning.

Once he comprehends our intricate offense he will be the starter at Left Tackle from Day 1 of this upcoming season. He will also dominate at his position, quickly proving that he is going to be one of the premier Left Tackle in the NFL for years to come.

I predict Castonzo to give up less than 5 sacks in his rookie year and maintain a consistent supremacy throughout the season.

He will make the All Rookie first team, and will be voted into the Pro Bowl as a rookie.

Indianapolis Colts fans have been looking for a void filler since Tarik Glenn retired in 2007, and he has finally arrived.

After this season when you mention Jake Long, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, or Joe Thomas, you won't forget to mention Anthony Castonzo. 

2. Before the Season Even Begins, Say Goodbye to Donald Brown

When the Indianapolis Colts drafted Running Back Donald Brown in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft, an abundant number of Colts fans thought that they may finally have found the successor to Edgerrin James.

Many Colts fans had begun to grow weary of starting Running Back Joseph Addai and his inability to become the star they had envisioned.

Enter Brown, a 5'10" 210 pound, pass-catching bruiser who had just finished his Junior campaign at UConn with 1,822 rushing yards.  This was good enough for first all time in rushing yards in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision(FBS).

That impressive stat and the Big East Offensive Player of the Year Award made him an exciting option with high expectation to meet upon his arrival in Indianapolis.

He has consistently failed to meet any of those expectations.

In 2 seasons with the Colts, he has been nothing but a let down, showing minimal flashes of quality, but mostly having a flair for being injury prone.

It is safe to say that he has been a complete bust in his NFL career thus far.

He has also been less than stellar in terms of handling the duties expected of a running back in our system, which include pass blocking, adjusting to numerous audibles, and excellent pass catching ability.

This is a trend Indianapolis can ill-afford to have continue and expect to be perennial Playoff and Super Bowl contenders.

Which is why I predict that once the NFL lockout dust has settled, the Colts brass will decide to part ways with the former first round pick.

However, the main reason behind it will be to pave the way for the new savior to our destitute running back situation.

Which brings me to my next slide. 

3. Delone Carter Will Lead the Team in Rushing Yards as a Rookie

Delone Carter, the Indianapolis Colts rookie running back, is poised for big things this year.

Carter, a fourth round selection in this years NFL Draft out of Syracuse University, is a bruising, downhill, runner that Indy has lacked for quite sometime. 

But watch him in person or on film, and you will see he is much more than that.

Carter brings explosive agility and precise feet that can stop and turn on a dime.  When you mix that with his power, it creates a perfect package in a pure NFL Running Back.

When you get past the "negatives" he carries with him, such as questions about the long term condition of his hip after suffering a devastating injury to it in 2007 and minor legal trouble for assault you begin to see his worth

Carter, who checks in at 5'10" and 220lbs, is an absolute man-beast.

This is why he was drafted to supplant the Colts glut of running backs who can't live up to expectations, like Joseph Addai and Donald Brown.

With all that in mind, I expect Carter to flourish once he adapts to our system.  Rest assured he will improve himself in his lesser areas such as run blocking and pass catching, and over the course of the season will become the focal point of our running game.

Once the 2011-2012 season is in the books, my prediction is that Colts fans will see Delone Carter with just over 1,000 yards rushing and somewhere between 9-11 touchdowns on the ground.

They will also finally see a physically reliable and powerful running back not seen since the days of Edgerrin James. 

4. Reggie Wayne Will Be out of Indianapolis After This Season

Wide Receiver Reggie Wayne, one of the greatest players in Indianapolis Colts history, will be in a different uniform next season.

There, I let the cat out of the bag, and nobody is going to be happy with it.

Unfortunately for all Colts fans, Wayne, the 5 time Pro Bowl selection, 3 time NFL All-Pro, and Super Bowl champion, is going to be allowed to walk at the end of this season.

Consider the massive contract that is going to be awarded to Quarterback Peyton Manning, which is going to make him the most highly paid player in NFL history.

Now, add to that the fact we have numerous key free agents that need to be paid this season, which include the likes of Linebacker Clint Session and Safety Melvin Bullitt.

It all adds up to Wayne and All-Pro Defensive End Robert Mathis needing to get paid, and my belief is the Colts organization will view Mathis as the younger and more valuable of the two options.

Wayne will yet again produce great numbers this season, and will more than likely be voted to his 6th Pro Bowl. 

But the sad truth is it will be the last time he does these things with the Colts.

5. The Indinapolis Colts Will Win the Super Bowl in Indianapolis

Let's be honest here, this is the true storybook ending.

In the entire history of the Super Bowl, no team has ever played the championship game on their home field.

On February 5, 2012 that will change.

The Colts are going to not only attend, but win Super Bowl XLVI.  I'm calling it now.

Numerous key players like Austin Collie and Dallas Clark returning from injuries will play a big part of it.   But the biggest reason is that I truly believe Peyton Manning will be unrelenting in this quest.

Manning has always made it his priority to strive to not only be the best, but to prove all his doubters wrong.

He did it when they said he wasn't better than Ryan Leaf.

He did it when they said he couldn't beat the New England Patriots in the Playoffs.

He did it when they said he couldn't win the Super Bowl.

And after this season the man many consider the greatest Quarterback of all-time will have once again taken Indianapolis to the promised land.

The best part about this is it will be witnessed right here in Indianapolis in front of all of us true Indianapolis Colts fans.

Begin Slideshow

Keep Reading

This article is

What is the duplicate article?

Why is this article offensive?

Where is this article plagiarized from?

Why is this article poorly edited?

Flag This Article

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.

Source: "Super Bowl 2011" via Glen in Google Reader

Rashard Mendenhall: Why 2011 Should Be a Pro Bowl Year for the Steeler - Bleacher Report

Rashard Mendenhall came out of Illinois as a first-round pick in the 2008 draft. He landed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team with a rich history of star running backs the reaches back to the days before Super Bowls or Terrible Towels.

He seemed perfectly set up for success, but a jarring hit by Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis put him on the shelf in his rookie season. Since then, he’s put together two campaigns of better than 1,000 yards. In 2010, he tied the Pittsburgh team record for rushing touchdowns in a season (14).

It seems like the young Pittsburgh back is poised for a Pro Bowl year, yet analysts and fans still seem to harbor doubts about the running back.

Even his own teammate, James Harrison, had some ill words when he referred to Mendenhall as a “fumbling machine” in a recent interview. Harrison was referring to Mendenhall’s Super Bowl gaffe that cost the Steelers momentum late in a tight game.

Still, I think Mendenhall is ready to turn the Pro Bowl corner in 2011.

Let’s take a look at the bigger picture first. Mendenhall has put together two excellent campaigns behind a subpar offensive line and on a team that’s taken a serious fancy to the passing game since 2008. He’s also improved his statistics in each of his two full seasons of starting.

In 2011, the Steelers are expected to have an improved offensive line. Center Maurkice Pouncey has already provided a huge boost. The addition of rookie Marcus Gilbert and the expected improvement of Ramon Foster and Doug Legursky (who could unseat other players) will also help Mendenhall be more effective on the run.

Mendenhall has also worked hard in recent years to decrease his fumbles. It’s worth noting that, studying film of the running back, his fumbles seem to occur mostly because he refuses to go down easily. That’s an admirable trait and one that serves a tough, inside runner like him very well in most situations.

No one play should define a player, so I would say that Super Bowl gaffe was more exception than rule. Mendenhall certainly isn’t a “fumbling machine.”

If I had to predict statistics (which I hate doing) for next season, I’d say that Mendenhall should be poised for 1,300 to 1,500 yards and could score 10 or more touchdowns. Both would be in the Pro Bowl caliber area, so he should at least get into the conversation. Also, don’t forget that Mendenhall is a threat as a receiver in certain situations, so he could increase his value with some key catches as well.

Reaching the Pro Bowl is, in a lot of cases, about the fan vote. Fans in Pittsburgh will probably vote for Mendenhall because he’s on their squad. Getting the votes from fans of other teams will be the key. For that to happen, he has to put together another solid season and also work on having more 100-yard efforts. Behind an improving line, that should be not only possible, but also probable.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.

Source: "Super Bowl 2011" via Glen in Google Reader

A Look at the Raiders Super Bowl Teams: 1980 Edition - Silver and Black Pride

Continuing our look at the Oakland Raiders Super Bowl Championship teams to help us along on our quest to determine the greatest Raider champion of all time we arrive at...

1980 Oakland Raiders

This Raider team started off slow. After five games they were 2-3, and they had lost two games in a row by a combined 31 points. They only lost two games the rest of the way.

Despite the strong finish, it wasn't enough for them to overcome their rough start, and that meant that the early deficit to the Chargers. The Raiders and Chargers finished tied for first at 11-5, but the Chargers took the tiebreaker, and this found the Raiders in the wild card round. The 1980 Raiders were the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl as wild card team.

The turnaround from the early season woes was definitely a team effort, but the biggest and most undeniable factor was Jim Plunkett. Dan Pastorini started the season as the Raiders starter, but he was lost for the season with an injury. Plunkett looked like anything but the savior in his first game as starter in a week 5 loss to the Chiefs. The Raiders lost 31-17 and Plunkett chucked five INTs. It was the Chiefs first win of the season.

Jump over for more....

Things got much better from there. The two headed running attack of Mark van Eeghan and Kenny King began to lead the Raiders offensive attack. Neither guy had over a thousand yards, but they combined for 1,599 yards. And of course, as running backs go they had it pretty good running left behind Art Shell and Gene Upshaw. Both players were ending the end of their career—Upshaw played one more season and Shell two—and they weren't as dominant as they were in 1976, but they were still a menacing pair.

The running game opened the door for a deep strike passing attack. Plunkett's favorite target was Cliff Branch. Branch led the Raiders with with 858 yards and fellow receiver led the Raiders with 10 touchdowns. As for Plunkett, his stats weren't impressive 18 TDs and 16 INTs, but he was good when he needed to be, and he took charge of the team. An impressive feat for a QB almost everyone had written off as an epic bust.

The offense was not the story of this team though. That honor goes to the defense. And the story of this defense starts with 'The Judge' Lester Hayes. Hayes had 13 picks in the regular season, and unbelievably he upped his game in the playoffs. There he had five INTs in three games. He returned two of those INTs for touchdowns.

Those are decent stats for a receiver. For a cornerback they are absolutely mind boggling. You have to wonder why an QB bothered throwing Hayes way. Well, the answer was, the other options weren't much better. All told the Raiders ended with 35 INTs! Incredible.

Of course a good pass rush helped force the QBs hand in this. Sacks weren't an official stat then, but Wikipedia tells me they had 54 of them. The Raiders had a solid three man D-line with Reggie Kinlaw flanked by John Matuszak and Dave Browning.

The linebackers were outstanding. Ted Hendricks and Rod Martin were beasts on the outside and rookie Matt Millen helped tie this defense as the season went on. From Week Eight on this defense gave up over 20 points only twice, and one of those times was in the conference championship game to the Chargers.

That win over the Chargers in the AFC Championship game was the Raiders second close game on the road in the playoffs. They won that one 34-27. The week before they needed a late drive to pull out a 14-12 victory over the Browns.

The Super Bowl wouldn't be quite so close. The Raiders dominated the Eagles 27-10. It was a game that was in stark contrast to 10-7 loss the Raiders suffered in Week 12 at Philadelphia. The game wasn't as close as the score indicated. It was 14-3 at halftime, and the Eagles didn't get their touchdown until the game was all but over in the fourth quarter.

Rod Martin had a legend making game with three INTs, and Jim Plunkett capped off his redemption tour with three TDs.

No one expected the Raiders to win the Super Bowl in 1980. This team gelled when no one was expecting it.

Just like the 1976 Raiders we have the NFL's America's Game special on them on youtube. These are fantastic. This one features Jim Plunkett, Matt Millen and Gene Upshaw.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.

Source: "Super Bowl 2011" via Glen in Google Reader

American Idol Receives 10 Emmy Nominations

Dim the lights...here we go!

The nominees for the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards were announced this morning, and American Idol accumulated a very impressive 10 nominations!

The ceremony, to be hosted by Glee's Jane Lynch, will air on FOX-TV on September 18.

Here are the 10 awards Idol is up for:

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION FOR VARIETY, MUSIC OR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
James Yarnell, Production Designer and Dave Edwards, Art Director

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES
Gregg Gelfand, Directed by

OUTSTANDING SHORT-FORM PICTURE EDITING - Scotty's Home Story
Oren Castro, Editor

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN/LIGHTING DIRECTION FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY
SERIES - Finale
Kieran Healy, Lighting Designer, Joshua Hutchings, Lighting Director, Matthew McAdam, Lighting Director, George Harvey, Lighting Director

OUTSTANDING HOST FOR A REALITY OR REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
Ryan Seacrest as Host

OUTSTANDING REALITY - COMPETITION PROGRAM
Ken Warwick, Executive Producer, Simon Fuller, Executive Producer, Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Executive Producer, Nigel Lythgoe, Executive Producer, Charles Boyd, Co-Executive Producer, Patrick M. Lynn, Supervising Producer, Megan Michaels, Supervising Producer, Ron DeShay, Senior Producer, Norm Betts, Senior Producer, Theodore Dimitriou, Producer, Katie Fennelly, Producer, Melanie Oberman, Producer

OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA) - Auditions No. 2: New
Orleans
Matt Slivinski, Sound Editor and Bryan Parker, Sound Editor

OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR A VARIETY OR MUSIC SERIES OR SPECIAL - Finale
Edward J. Greene, Production Mixer, Randy Faustino, Music Mixer, Patrick Baltzell, PA Mixer, Michael Parker, Monitor Mixer
OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING - Auditions No. 2: New
... read more

Source: "American Idol 10 Live Feed" via Glen in Google Reader

AMERICAN CENTURY CHAMPIONSHIP: Romo, past champs favored to win 2011 tournament - Lahontan Valley News

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

AMERICAN CENTURY CHAMPIONSHIP: Romo, past champs favored to win 2011 tournament Lahontan Valley News Romo, Smoltz and two-time Super Bowl MVP John Elway, all finished in a tie for second last year behind Tolliver. The 2011 odds reflect those results with Romo as the co-favorite, Smoltz at 5-1 and Elway at 12-1. Other notables include Jerry Rice at ... and more

Source: "Super Bowl 2011" via Glen in Google Reader

Can the Packers repeat as Super Bowl champs? - Niners Nation

Few teams have a fan base a rabid as the Green Bay Packers.  They're the only community owned team in any of the four major sports in North America, and they're the only NFL team that started in a podunk cowtown that's still playing in that podunk cowtown in spite of the fact the entire city could fit inside Lambeau Field.  The reason is because the entire town pretty much does squeeze inside Lambeau Field every game day.  They've sold out all their home games since 1960 and there's currently over 80,000 people on the waiting list for season tickets.  The wait is so bad many people have put their season tickets into their wills, while other have taken the extreme step of getting their newly born babies onto the list in the hopes they'll be able to enjoy at least one year as a season ticket holder before they die.

Considering the average turnover is less than 100 tickets per year, undoubtedly the next step will be to let people put their place in line into their wills.  As his last will and testament, John Smith bequeaths to his wife Mildred his Plymouth Prowler, to his daughter Madison his complete collection of county fair pins, and to his son Edward his 23,212th spot in line for Packers season tickets.  And to think some would have us believe receiving Direct TV in a will is something to get excited about.

So can the Packers reward their fans loyalty by repeating as Super Bowl champions?  The obvious answer is yes, of course they can, what a stupid question. Technically speaking even the Panthers have a chance of winning the next Super Bowl.  Then again, there's a chance I'm not really writing this right now but rather my body is in some sort of matrix like cocoon being used as a double A battery for intelligent computers, waiting to be freed by Keanu Reeves.  The only thing we can really say for sure is, "I think therefor I am, even if I'm not sure I am what I think I am," if that makes any sense.  So a better question would be, "How likely are the Packers to repeat as Super Bowl champs?"

In the history of the Super Bowl, seven teams have won back-to-back championships, with the 49ers almost pulling off the three-peat before coming up just short thanks to a painful Rodger Craig fumble that still makes me want to bang my head against the wall to this day.  So it's not that uncommon for a team to successfully defend their title, but the Packers are hardly a juggernaut.  Lost in all of the hoopla (that's right, I said hoopla) surrounding the Packers Super Bowl victory was the fact they were only 9-6 going into the final weekend of the season, needing a victory over the Bears just to make the playoffs. 

More after the jump...

The main reason why the Packer barely squeezed into the playoffs was their inability to get any kind of consistent running game going on offense.  As a team they averaged only 3.8 yards per carry, ranking all the way down at only 25th best, and that number was inflated a little because of Aaron Rodgers averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Of their running backs not a single one with at least 10 carries averaged over 3.7 yards.  

But if the Packers running backs sometimes looked like they were wearing waited cleats, the Packers defense usually did their best matador impression saying, "Ole!" as opposing running backs plowed past.  They ranked 28th in the NFL allowing running backs to average 4.64 yards per carry, and that was with Clay Matthews prowling the middle. When even the vanilla 49ers rushing attack can average 4.4 yards each run, you know things are bad.

Yet if the Packers are to repeat it's really going to come down to the play of Rodgers. It's never easy taking over for a legend at the quarterback position especially when that legend still has some gas left in the tank, just ask Steve Young, but watching him turn into a late night tallk show punch line certainly helps. Last season Rodgers finished 3rd with a 101.2 passer rating, throwing just under 4,000 yards, 28 touchdowns, and only 11 interceptions. It was the second time in three years Rodgers finished with a QB rating over 100, something Brett Favre accomplished only once in his career, assuming his career actually is over (oh please let it be over), and never with the Packers.  But to be fair, Favre only had Greg Jennings for two seasons while Rodgers has now had him for three.  Last year Jennings finished 4th among receivers with 1,265 receiving yards and 2nd with 12 touchdowns.

And while the Packers rush defense last season stunk harry (bleep), they wrecked havoc on opposing quarterbacks.  Led by Matthews, they sacked them 47 times (2nd), intercepted them another 24 (2nd), and limited them to a league low passer rating of 67.23 that only JaMarcus Russell would have been proud of.

Given their shortcomings it should come as no surprise the Packers used their first pick in the draft on offensive tackle Derek Sherrod, their second pick on maybe the best overall return man in the draft, Randall Cobb (they ranked 22nd in punt returns and 26th in kickoff returns), and their third pick on running back Alexander Green.  If Sherrod and Green can help the Packers get even a mediocre run game going they'll be difficult to stop on offense.  They still have the problem of not being able to stop the run very well on defense but it didn't hurt them too much last year as the gaveup the second least amount of points. They'll still have to contend with the defending NFC North champion Bears, and the Lions have the best team they've had in over 10 years (amazing what getting rid if Matt Millen can do), but there's no reason the Packers can't win the North and make another deep playoff run come January.  Then again, maybe this is all fake and we're still waiting for Keanu Reeves to rescue us.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.

Source: "Super Bowl 2011" via Glen in Google Reader

Kimberley Locke’s Dance EP

Back in May, Season 2's top girl, Kimberley Locke, posted 3 new songs to her Facebook page allowing fans to vote on their favorite to become her next single. The winning song through this campaign was "Finally Free," but the response to all the songs was so great that she has decided to release all three as a new EP, Four For The Floor. The dance EP also features the other songs included in the campaign, "I Can't Get Enough" and "Sirens," as well as a new version of the previously unreleased track, "Runway."

"The original focus of the campaign was just to figure out what the next single would be" said Locke. "The response and passion the fans had for not only "Finally Free," but all the new music was amazing!The voting results were very close and since the fans loved the new material so much, I wanted to thank them by releasing all the songs rather than just the single."

Four For The Floor will be available for purchase on iTunes and other popular digital retailers on Tuesday, July 19 via I AM Entertainment.

"Finally Free" is expected to impact radio in mid-August with a music video and remix package to follow shortly after. Kimberley co-wrote the song with Grammy-nominated Idol alum Ace Young and Swedish producers Crossfade. Ace and Kimberley opened up about their collaboration last season. read more

Source: "American Idol 10 Live Feed" via Glen in Google Reader

Vrabel Retires On Defense And Offense - WBUR

Mike Vrabel is retiring after 14 years in the NFL. In an era of specialists, the linebacker found a second job scoring touchdowns, like this one in Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005. (AP)

We are fascinated by the unexpected in sports. Little men who can dunk. Pitchers who can hit. Goalies who find their way into fights.

Today, Mike Vrabel, a linebacker by trade who also moonlighted as a touchdown target, announced that his career is over. Vrabel spent 14 seasons with Pittsburgh, New England and Kansas City. He is joining the football coaching staff at his alma mater, Ohio State University.

In the NFL, the days of athletes playing full-time on both offense and defense are long gone. The league is populated with one-sided specialists whose specialties, in most cases, are in one very specific place in the formation.

However, we still get occasional glimpses of football players in unusual spots: a sure-handed wide receiver sent in to defend a Hail Mary; a kicker who tackles like a strong safety; a quarterback in the slot for the wildcat.

William “The Refrigerator” Perry is probably the most famous of the modern NFL fish-out-of-water stories. A massive defensive lineman who spent the bulk of his career with the Chicago Bears, Perry retired with three offensive touchdowns to his credit.

His size (325 pounds on a good day), status as a pop culture icon and the fact that he scored in a Super Bowl cemented his place among football’s asterisks.

But Vrabel turned a gimmick into a serious side business. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is famous for repurposing players, and, in 2002, he sent Vrabel in for a goal-line formation. Quarterback Tom Brady hit Vrabel in the end zone, the start of an unusual scoring combination.

Vrabel was scoreless in 2003, but grabbed two TDs in 2004, three more in 2005 and two more in 2007.

The Akron, Ohio, native was traded to Kansas City in 2009, but his offensive output continued. He added a receiving touchdown in each of his final two seasons.

All the while, Vrabel was having a very successful career in his primary role: stopping guys like (well, sort of like) him from getting into the end zone. He had 57 sacks, earned three Super Bowl rings and made the 2007 Pro Bowl. He also had 11 career interceptions, returning one for the only defensive TD of his career.

You might say Vrabel was interesting because he kept us guessing. But there wasn’t much guessing after the first couple of times Brady hit him in the end zone, especially after the linebacker turned receiver hauled in a Super Bowl score of his own against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2005.

If Vrabel came in on offense, there was a good chance he’d score. He’ll never have the household name status of “The Fridge,” but he leaves a much more impressive career stat line on the “wrong” side of the ball: 10 receptions for 10 touchdowns.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.

Source: "Super Bowl 2011" via Glen in Google Reader

David Cook and Mandisa on the Billboard Charts

In the past week, two Idol alumni earned more number ones on the Billboard charts. Season 7's American Idol, David Cook, just released his new album, This Loud Morning, and it charted this week in the Top Internet Albums category. Season 5 finalist Mandisa found her single "Stronger" at the top of the Christian Songs chart.

Just counting the Idol finalists, 54 have landed on the Billboard charts, but the number increases to 58 when you add non-finalists William Hung, Josiah Leming, Frenchie Davis, and Chris Medina.

American Idol #1s by Contestant
Here is a list of all the Idols who have had No. 1 hits, compiled by Music JournalistFred Bronson.

Kelly Clarkson - 60
Carrie Underwood - 50
Chris Daughtry (Daughtry) - 38
Fantasia - 30
Ruben Studdard - 16
Jennifer Hudson - 15
Clay Aiken - 11<... read more

Source: "American Idol 10 Live Feed" via Glen in Google Reader

At All-Star Game, Politics and Passion Are Also in Play - New York Times

By GEORGE VECSEY

Published: July 10, 2011

Demonstrators plan to pass out white ribbons; Phoenix plans to pass out chains.

So it goes in the old immigration game. For all the hopeful blather that the wealthiest players would take one for a cause, baseball is arriving in broiling Phoenix, ready for the Home Run Derby and all the feel-good ceremonies and the All-Star Game itself on Tuesday.

The proposed boycott to protest Arizona’s immigration law, known as S.B. 1070, which would tighten the surveillance and prosecution of suspected illegal immigrants, has long since turned into a peaceful wearing of white ribbons and passing out of literature and perhaps some personal criticism of the law from a few players with social awareness.

To show his respect for the tasteful lowering of tension, Sheriff Joseph M. Arpaio of Maricopa County said he planned to use one of the county’s chain gangs to clean up the area around Chase Field near downtown Phoenix.

“You think I put the chain gang in the desert where no one could see them?” Sheriff Joe was quoted saying Wednesday by The Arizona Republic. “I’ve never done that,” he added, noting that the chain gang members, all convicted of crimes, will have volunteered for their cleanup duty.

Work crews like this are quite normal for major events, Sheriff Joe reassured the world. Most likely, he added, any chain gang would include illegal immigrants. He used chain gangs of D.U.I. offenders during Super Bowl XLII and unveiled a winking neon “Vacancy” sign outside a jail during Super Bowl XXX. Why should Sheriff Joe change now, just because fans all over the baseball diaspora will have their eyes on Phoenix for a couple of days?

Welcome to Arizona, ground zero of the debate over illegal immigration. When Arizona’s controversial law was passed in 2010, baseball had long since awarded the 2011 All-Star Game to Phoenix. There was some chatter about moving the game, and a few Latino players blurted that they just might boycott the game.

“Unfortunately, they did not move the game,” said Luis Avila, the president of Somos America (We Are America), the umbrella group of 25 groups protesting the Arizona law.

Major League Baseball and Commissioner Bud Selig, who has a home in Arizona, did not immediately move the game elsewhere, the way N.F.L. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue had moved the 1993 Super Bowl several years in advance when Arizona refused to make Martin Luther King’s Birthday a paid state holiday.

•

In one sense, baseball was taken off the hook last April when a federal court ruled against the strictest portions of S.B. 1070. For the moment, critics of the bill cannot claim that Adrian Gonzalez of the Red Sox or Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays are likely to be hauled into the pokey for looking vaguely, in the eyes of some police officer, like somebody who had just crossed the border without papers.

But they could arrive for the game unable to miss the chain gangs being displayed by Sheriff Joe just outside the team bus. Welcome to Phoenix, everybody.

The latest evidence is that immigration from Mexico to the United States is declining as more Mexicans stay home to work and to be close to their families. The state is appealing the federal decision to the Supreme Court, which has recently upheld another Arizona bill that penalizes hiring illegal immigrants.

Critics of the bill will stand as witnesses in the hot sun (a high of 103 is forecast) and will pass out white ribbons and antibill literature to patrons heading into the air-conditioned sanctuary of Chase Field.

“We are a diverse state,” said Avila, 28, who came from Queretaro, Mexico, a decade ago to study at the University of Arizona and is now an American citizen and a paid community organizer who volunteers his free time for Somos America.

“We are against knee-jerk talk,” Avila said. “We are against divisive rhetoric.”

Avila says he expected some of the many Latino players in the game to wear ribbons on their street clothes and to speak out against the bill. Major League Baseball has given signals that the players are free to air their personal opinions during the All-Star celebration. Avila says he expects several retired Latino players to attend and speak against the bill.

Two people who will attend the All-Star Game are Rachel Robinson, the widow of Jackie Robinson, and Sharon Robinson, the daughter of Jackie and Rachel. Sharon said she planned to wear a white ribbon because “I am totally opposed to the legislation.”

But she is showing up, partly because she is a consultant for Major League Baseball on an essay contest for children called Breaking Barriers. This year’s winner is Meggie Zahneis, 13, from West Chester, Ohio, who has a rare neurological disability and wrote an essay tracing her many opportunities to the promise of America.

“Listening to stories told by my grandma, I realize that back in her day, women didn’t have the same career opportunities or rights as men,” the young woman wrote. “Now that the road has been paved by pioneers such as Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King Jr., anyone can grow up and be our president, as proven by Barack Obama.”

Since the All-Star Game became caught up in the tensions over immigration, the name of Jackie Robinson has been bandied about, as some sort of Che Guevara in spikes.

“I can’t speak for him, but the fact is, we are going,” Sharon Robinson said for herself and her mother, 88, who is still a force. She said that her father always showed up to play, and to play hard, but that he would surely have used the forum of the All-Star Game to make his point about the Arizona bill.

Jackie Robinson’s most visceral protest came as a young second lieutenant in Texas during World War II, when he refused to move to the back of the bus and went through a court-martial (he was acquitted) before leaving the service. In his early years with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he heard a lot of the ugly comments, but in short order, he began speaking out, from the bully pulpit of a hard slide or a few pointed remarks to reporters after a game. And in his retirement, he was a Republican, a businessman and an activist during the civil rights era — a presence, not an absence.

“My father marched with Dr. King down south, he went to the church in Birmingham where the little girls were killed,” Sharon Robinson said the other day. “He took the whole family to the March on Washington in 1963. I was 13, and I remember how hot it was, and I heard Dr. King speak. Later we held a jazz concert in our house in Connecticut to raise money for Dr. King, who came to our house.”

Roberto Clemente became America’s great Latin sporting hero the moment his flimsy charter plane crashed into the sea off his native Puerto Rico on New Year’s Eve in 1972, while he was ferrying goods to earthquake-stricken Nicaragua. Having been around the Pirates during the turbulent 1960s, I can guarantee that if Clemente were alive today, he would be showing up in Phoenix, with something to say.

The Major League Baseball Players Association, whose current membership is about 30 percent Latino, has opposed the bill from the beginning. But the executive director, Michael Weiner, has not urged players to skip the game or to take any unified action.

•

“The Major League Baseball Players Association opposes this law as written,” Weiner said in a statement Friday. “We hope that the law is repealed or modified promptly. If the current law goes into effect, the M.L.B.P.A. will consider additional steps necessary to protect the rights and interests of our members.” But he never mentioned the words boycott or protest.

It was always a dodgy proposition to expect highly diverse millionaire ballplayers to be way out ahead of the rest of us. The issue belongs to Americans like Luis Avila and millions of other Americans, particularly those who live near the Mexican border and are entitled to their own views on immigration and S.B. 1070. The All-Star Game goes on, with white ribbons and chains.

E-mail: geovec@nytimes.com

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.

Source: "Super Bowl 2011" via Glen in Google Reader

Cannon remains fired up during treatments - Boston Globe

When last we checked in with Marcus Cannon, the Patriots’ fifth-round pick out of Texas Christian, he opened up about his diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which had caused him to slide from a borderline first-rounder.

“You know, this happened for a reason,’’ the offensive lineman said in early May. “We’ll see in the days to come why it happened and then we’ll look back and say good thing I didn’t care about when I went, but I’m not going to look back.’’

Cannon started the first of four chemotherapy treatments April 28, the first day of the draft. The final treatment was originally scheduled for June 29.

A story in his hometown Fort Worth Star-Telegram pegged last week as his final go-around. That has been pushed back to this week.

On Friday, Cannon didn’t want to discuss his timeframe, but the important thing for the Patriots is he continues to be in high spirits and optimistic about his future.

“I don’t know when my last chemo treatment is, but everything’s going pretty well,’’ Cannon said. “Everything’s going good.’’

If he’s suffering any side effects, Cannon is hiding it well.

After initially dropping about 15 pounds, the 6-foot-5-inch Cannon is back up to his playing weight of 354. He’s working out several times a week, both near his home in Odessa, Texas, and at TCU, and has maintained his strength.

“I’m still pretty good, I still feel the same,’’ Cannon said.

He said no decisions have been made about when he will be able to return to the field.

“We really don’t know anything yet,’’ Cannon said. “We’re just kind of waiting for the lockout to end and then we’ll talk to the doctors and see where everything goes after that.’’

Just like Cannon views his cancer diagnosis as part of God’s plan for him, the lockout could be a good thing in the long term.

Because of the lockout, this year’s crop of rookies has missed offseason practices, minicamps, and team workout programs. When the lockout ends and training camp starts, they’ll be so far behind that not many rookies will have an impact this season. Some will effectively be redshirted, especially if the expected roster expansions come to pass.

Cannon would be a perfect candidate to take things slow. He could take his time learning the playbook and making sure his body is healthy before taking on professional football. That would do nothing but increase the odds of Cannon having a long and effective NFL career.

But Cannon isn’t even thinking about that yet. He just wants to get healthy, see the lockout end, and return to playing football.

“I can’t wait to get back,’’ he said.

CHART TOPPERS

Not on same page with list During the lockout, it has been the policy of this space not to fill the news void with nonsense. If it’s important, we’ll bring it to you. Anything else would be insulting to the reader and otherwise a waste of time since no one knows what the post-lockout landscape will look like. Thus, we avoided any talk about the NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of 2011 - the epitome of filler material - until now.

Overall, the list is laughable - Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings at 74, two spots behind Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo? - but we’ll deal with just the top 10 once we address what went largely unaddressed by the NFL Network. Namely, how was the list put together?

Several questions about the process were submitted to the network, but had not been answered by press time. The network did tell Yahoo! Sports previously that 413 players (less than 25 percent) were polled, although they didn’t identify if they were rookies, veterans, or a mix.

Those players were asked to list their top 20 current players, and then point values were assigned. That’s it.

If the NFL Network wanted a list that actually meant something, it should have polled each front office, with no one being able to vote for their own player.

But they went another, disappointing direction.

The NFL Network knew it needed some buzz during the lockout, and what better way than to compile a list with no basis in reality?

In any event, here is one man’s top 10 (with NFL Network player ranking in parentheses):

1. Tom Brady, QB, Patriots (1) - Well, at least they got the most important one right. There’s no disputing, though others have tried, that Brady was the best player in the league last season. By far. Just consider that his main weapons were two rookies (Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez), a receiver coming off ACL surgery (Wes Welker), a receiver traded for in October (Deion Branch), and two undrafted running backs (BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead). Oh, and his best offensive lineman, Logan Mankins, didn’t sign until Week 9.

2. Peyton Manning, QB, Colts (2) - Threw for a career-best 4,700 yards despite playing behind a shaky line, having many of his top targets lost to injury, and playing with a neck injury that needed postseason surgery.

3. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers (11) - Amazing that more players don’t appreciate the talents of the 27-year-old Super Bowl MVP. Playing in the league’s smallest market with not many marquee national games (he missed the showdown with the Patriots because of a concussion) doesn’t help. But he’s the perfect player to run coach Mike McCarthy’s high-powered offense, and he kills as much with his legs as his arm.

4. Darrelle Revis, CB, Jets (8) - When he’s healthy, there is no better defensive player. He erases an opponent’s best receiver. In today’s pass-happy NFL, that’s invaluable.

5. Chris Johnson, RB, Titans (13) - Even on a terrible team with no passing offense, arguably the game’s best offensive weapon still rushed for 1,364 yards and 11 touchdowns. Defensive coordinators are terrified of his speed.

6. Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Steelers (41) - His personal life aside, Roethlisberger has won two Super Bowls and been to another in seven seasons. That doesn’t happen by accident, even with that defense. He’s really good.

7. Andre Johnson, WR, Texans (7) - Have to give the players credit on this one. Johnson missed three games last season and still had 1,216 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. The game’s best receiver.

8. Drew Brees, QB, Saints (9) - Some probably give coach Sean Payton’s offense most of the credit, but you have to have a top trigger man to run it. Brees’s mind and terrific accuracy are what make him dangerous.

9. Patrick Willis, LB, 49ers (23) - The most complete linebacker in the game. He’s extraordinary at taking on blockers and shedding them. First-team All-Pro the last two seasons.

10. James Harrison, LB, Steelers (21) - Right there with Willis as far as production, Harrison is nearly as good against the run and in coverage as he is rushing the passer.

Players in the players’ top 10, but not in mine:

3. Adrian Peterson, RB, Vikings - Tremendous runner, but his terrible pass blocking and questionable receiving skills make him far from complete.

4. Ray Lewis, LB, Ravens - Still a top-notch leader, but at 36 his best days are behind him.

5. Ed Reed, S, Ravens - You can’t be elite if you’ve played a total of 22 games the last two seasons, sorry.

6. Troy Polamalu, S, Steelers - Still highly productive, but injury woes the last two seasons have diminished his value. When healthy, he’s a top-10 player.

10. Julius Peppers, DE, Bears - On pure athletic talent, he could be the top player. But he’s too inconsistent. Last season, though, was a step in the right direction.

ETC.

He’s a real people person When Mike McCarthy was hired as coach in Green Bay in 2006, he coined the phrase “Packer people’’ in his mission statement for the type of players he wanted. That was code for finding players who embodied the values of the blue-collar people in Northeast Wisconsin.

McCarthy, along with general manager Ted Thompson, were looking for leaders of high character with tireless work ethics and a passion for their jobs. Those ideals kept them away from certain players in the draft and free agency.

For the most part, the organization has stayed true to that, and it helped pave the way to a Super Bowl title. There have been two black marks on their personnel philosophy, however, in defensive lineman Johnny Jolly and cornerback Brandon Underwood.

Jolly was suspended indefinitely by the NFL in 2010 for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy after his arrest for codeine possession. It was disappointing, given McCarthy’s policy, that the team indicated Jolly would be welcomed back once he was reinstated. But before he could return to the team, Jolly was arrested again for codeine possession in March. The Packers can’t release Jolly during the lockout or while he’s in the substance-abuse program, but he is undoubtedly finished with the Packers.

Underwood should also be in his final days as a Packer. Last June, during a charity event connected to teammate Clay Matthews, Underwood was involved in an incident that led to him pleading no contest to soliciting prostitution. The Packers kept Underwood around last season, and he repaid the team’s faith by being charged last week with disorderly conduct for a domestic disturbance.

Underwood’s wife, and mother to their three children, called police to the couple’s home following the team’s Super Bowl ring ceremony after he allegedly ripped a necklace off her neck and threw her to the ground. Brandie Underwood, who filed for divorce in May but said they are attempting to reconcile, didn’t want her husband arrested and isn’t in fear of him. Regardless of what happens in the case, Underwood, like Jolly, should never play for the Packers again. Or the phrase “Packer people’’ is worth about as much as the paper it was printed on.

Right man for the job? While free agent quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has maintained he would like to re-sign with the Seahawks, a path away from Seattle has opened up for the Norfolk native and former Boston College star.

The Titans will be looking for a veteran quarterback after Kerry Collins announced his retirement last week. And moving to the Titans would be an easy transition for Hasselbeck. Three of the Titans’ executives, general manager Mike Reinfeldt, vice president of player personnel Ruston Webster, and director of pro scouting Lake Dawson, were with Hasselbeck in Seattle.

The Titans drafted their quarterback of the future, Jake Locker, in the first round, but it would be better if he didn’t have to play right away.

“He’s a great kid, just a wonderful, wonderful guy,’’ Hasselbeck said of Locker in April. “I feel like he’s the kind of guy who would be a great leader on a football team. Just really, really gifted and talented.

“I understand it could be a reality with me this year, whether it’s with the Seahawks or wherever, that I’m with a guy like that, a young guy.’’

Hasselbeck said he would relish mentoring a player like Locker. “I’m kind of excited for that kind of an opportunity to maybe be on a team with a really talented young guy and just get the opportunity to pay that forward just a little bit, things that I’ve learned along the way,’’ Hasselbeck said. “If I can share that with a really talented guy that’s willing to work and listen, that could be a really fun thing. And at the same time, hopefully, be on a really good team.’’

While the Titans might not be “really good’’ - they were 6-10 and have a new coach during a lockout - it seems like a perfect marriage.

Short yardage The NFL lost one of its most impactful players - on and off the field - last week when Colts Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey died from frontal temporal dementia. Not only did he revolutionize his position, he won the first and most significant battles with the NFL as the first Players Association president after the merger in 1970. Six years ago, Mackey and his wife, Sylvia, helped usher in much-needed changes with how the league treated former players. His battle with dementia was the catalyst for the NFL to adopt the “88 Plan’’ in his honor. It provides up to $88,000 per year for ex-players dealing with dementia or Alzheimer’s. Hard, though, not to see the irony that Mackey’s death - caused by playing football - came the same week that owners and players were haggling over, among other things, health care for retired players. They should do right by them and Mackey . . . We have our first real victims of the lockout: the people and businesses in Albany and Cortland, N.Y., and Westminster, Md., where the Giants, Jets, and Ravens, respectively, were forced to cancel their out-of-town training camps. All three will train at their in-season facilities. A real shame . . . Chiefs tight end Leonard Pope saved a 6-year-old boy from drowning June 11 in Georgia, and has since used his C.H.A.M.P. Foundation to emphasize water safety for children.

Greg A. Bedard can be reached at gbedard@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @greg_a_bedard. Material from interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.

© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.

Source: "Super Bowl 2011" via Glen in Google Reader