Necesitamos más Football !!!

SUPER BOWL BYE WEEK INJURY REPORT – THURSDAY - Ingles

2012-01-27T13:19:00.002-03:00

NEW YORK GIANTS at NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

NEW YORK GIANTS
(New York did not practice on Wednesday. The Wednesday practice report is an estimation.)

Practice Report

DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE

Wednesday
RB Ahmad Bradshaw (foot), WR Hakeem Nicks (shoulder), S Tyler Sash (concussion)

Thursday
C David Baas (abdomen, neck), LB Chase Blackburn (calf), CB Will Blackmon (knee), RB Ahmad Bradshaw (foot), WR Hakeem Nicks (shoulder), CB Corey Webster (hamstring), LB Jacquian Williams (foot)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Wednesday
DE Osi Umenyiora (ankle, knee)

Thursday
DE Osi Umenyiora (ankle, knee)

FULL PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Thursday
S Tyler Sash (concussion)

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

Practice Report

DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE

Wednesday
TE Rob Gronkowski (ankle)

Thursday
TE Rob Gronkowski (ankle)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Wednesday
WR Deion Branch (knee), T Marcus Cannon (ankle), S Patrick Chung (knee), LB Dane Fletcher (thumb), S James Ihedigbo (shoulder), DT Kyle Love (ankle), G Logan Mankins (knee), LB Rob Ninkovich (hip), LB Brandon Spikes (knee), T Sebastian Vollmer (back, foot), WR Wes Welker (knee), LB Tracy White (abdomen)

Thursday
WR Deion Branch (knee), T Marcus Cannon (ankle), S Patrick Chung (knee), LB Dane Fletcher (thumb), S James Ihedigbo (shoulder), DT Kyle Love (ankle), G Logan Mankins (knee), LB Rob Ninkovich (hip), LB Brandon Spikes (knee), T Sebastian Vollmer (back, foot), WR Wes Welker (knee), LB Tracy White (abdomen)

FULL PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Wednesday
G Dan Connolly (groin), WR Matt Slater (shoulder)

Thursday
G Dan Connolly (groin), WR Matt Slater (shoulder)

Football is America's Favorite Sport as Lead Over Baseball Continues to Grow - Ingles

2012-01-27T11:28:00.007-03:00

For two months every year, sports fans have to make a decision - watch football or baseball on Sundays? Based on the numbers of Americans who say it's their favorite sport, one would have to assume that football wins hands down. Over one-third of adults who follow at least one sport (36%) say professional football is their favorite sport while just 13% say baseball is their favorite. The gap between the two sports has widened in the past year - last year 31% said pro football was their favorite while 17% said baseball was their favorite sport.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,237 adults surveyed online between December 5 and 12, 2011 by Harris Interactive.

Looking at how other sports fared, just over one in ten sports fans (13%) say college football is their favorite sport while 8% say it is auto racing, 5% each say men's professional basketball, men's college basketball and hockey. All other sports are favorites for 2% or less of sports fans.

There are some fluctuations in favorites over time. Since this question was first asked in 1985, professional football has gone up 12 points from 24% of sports fans saying it was their favorite sport then to 36% saying so now. Baseball, on the other hand, has gone down 10 points from 23% in 1985 to 13% today. College football, auto racing and hockey have all gone up 3 points while men's tennis has gone down 3 points

Who likes football and baseball… and who really doesn't

When it comes to the top sports, different groups are more likely to cite them as favorites. African Americans (48%), those aged 30-39 years (46%), and those with some college (42%) are more likely to say professional football is their favorite sport while those with a post-graduate education (28%), Born-again Christians (30%), and those aged 65 and older (30%) are less likely to do so. When it comes to baseball, those aged 50 - 64 (21%), Hispanics (19%), and Easterners (17%) are more likely to cite it as their favorite sport. African Americans (6%), those aged 30-39 (6%) and households with children (9%) are least likely to say baseball is their favorite. Looking at college football, those with a post-graduate degree (22%), college graduates (19%) and Midwesterners (18%) are more likely to say it's their favorite sport while Easterners (4%), those with a household income of under $35,000 (8%) and those aged 50-64 (8%) are least likely to say so.

So What?

As we got closer to the beginning of the football season there was a sense of gloom that it might not start. However, the talks succeeded and the season began on time. This scare did not seem to drive fans away from the sport, but rather, moved more people to it as the gap between football and baseball is now the largest it's ever been at 23 points. The question is why? Is it that football is doing everything right and baseball is doing something wrong? Or, is the draw of one sport just that much larger than the other. Next year, it is possible that college football could overtake baseball and what would that say about America's pastime?

TABLE 1
FAVORITE SPORT
"If you had to choose, which ONE of these sports would you say is your favorite?"
Base: All adults who follow one or more sport

Note 1: NA = Not asked in that year. Men and women's sports were not always distinguished
Note 2: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
Note 3: "*" indicates less than 0.5%

TABLE 1 (continued)
FAVORITE SPORT
"If you had to choose, which ONE of these sports would you say is your favorite?"
Base: All adults who follow one or more sport

Note 1: NA = Not asked in that year. Men and women's sports were not always distinguished
Note 2: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
Note 3: "*" indicates less than 0.5%

TABLE 2
DEMOGRAPHIC VARIATIONS IN FAVORITE SPORTS
" If you had to choose, which ONE of these sports would you say is your favorite?"
Base: All adults who follow more than one sport

Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between December 5 to 12, 2011 among 2,237 adults (aged 18 and over), 1,466 of whom say they follow at least one sport. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

NFL buzz, as viewed on Twitter and Facebook - Ingles

2012-01-27T11:21:00.002-03:00

I was an old soul at age 7, had my first midlife crisis at 12.

As such, I distrust any "hot new thing" down to an almost molecular level. Social media? I tend to prefer antisocial media.

Sure, I regularly send Twitter notes, hoping that a democracy of public thought is mostly a good and entertaining thing, though as John Adams noted: "There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."

But a new development in this frantic sphere is interesting even to a devoted cyber-agnostic like me. Using the latest tools, analysts are combing our Facebook and Twitter messages to decipher what American sports fans are buzzing about.

Much of it won't surprise you, but some of it will. And there is no telling what it portends for fans, players and the often predatory world of sports marketing.

Folks, meet the new A.C. Nielsens of buzz, data companies that are determining what's hot, what's not, who's popular, who's the goat.

For instance, one of those companies, General Sentiment, discovered that interest in the New York Giants had climbed this week, while interest in the New England Patriots waned.

General Sentiment uses something called natural language processing, fancy talk for software that rakes through huge volumes of text for names or terms. The company is not alone in this field. Firms such as Radian6 and Crimson Hexagon also monitor social media for trends.

Not only can these companies measure number of mentions, analysts such as General Sentiment's Steve Kwon can filter messages for positive and negative tone, providing a real-time snapshot of public sentiment.

Nobody is spying your personal missives — the data collectors look only at Twitter and Facebook feeds that are set to "public." Yet, using these new digital toys, General Sentiment discovered the Baltimore Ravens were the most discussed team over the past weekend, and many of the messages carried the word "hate," indicating they were often referenced in a negative light.

"Hate also described feelings for Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff, and if not towards him, the manner in which the Ravens lost," Kwon said.

In the case of Kyle Williams of the San Francisco 49ers, social media took an ominous turn. After he fumbled a punt in overtime to hand the New York Giants a victory in the NFC championship game, Williams received hate mail and even death threats over Twitter.com. Such instant, often acrimonious feedback could give head coaches and team execs fits. No doubt, the phenomenon will make Sunday sermons for what it says about our need to win. Or our need to share. Or our tendency to form colonies of like-minded fools.

It is even revealing of the sports fans' age-old inclination to argue till we're blue in the face. Like it or not, this is what passes for barroom debate these days.

There is useful and interesting information to be had as well. For example, the Detroit Lions were the most mentioned team of this NFL season, Kwon said, followed by the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers.

No surprise, Tim Tebow was the most mentioned player, followed by Tom Brady and (perhaps a surprise) Cam Newton.

Just how popular was Tebow as a topic this season? From Jan. 14-16, around the time of the divisional playoffs, he received 1.5 million mentions, which was more than Brady (745,000), Eli Manning (341,000) and Drew Brees (278,000) combined.

Noting Newton's high numbers as well, General Sentiment analyst John Stillwell said: "Not only do [Tebow and Newton] represent a new era of quarterbacks, they're a new breed in quarterback in how they run and play. We think that factors in to their popularity."

As for the upcoming Super Bowl, Kwon sees support growing for New York.

"I pulled updated data for the Pats and Giants and found some interesting things," he said. "While the Giants and Pats generated similar ... volume on Sunday, the Giants' volume continued to rise on Monday while buzz about the Patriots significantly decreased. "

Kwon also scrubbed the messages for what he calls "sentiment words," and found:

• On Monday, "win" was attributed to the Giants 98,721 times while "lose" described the Giants 24,141 times.

• "Better" described the Giants 28,019 times. On Twitter, the majority of people who discussed the Giants on Monday seemed to think that the Giants were a better team than the Patriots.

• The top negative sentiment word for Patriots on Twitter was "hate."

The Patriots have been one of the more disliked teams in recent NFL history, said analysts from General Sentiment, which was founded in 2008.

L.A. fans might be interested to know that in nationwide measures of Twitter and other social media traffic, Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul are the two most mentioned players in the NBA, and the Lakers and the Clippers are the top two teams in the league.

One more thing for them to compete over. One more measure of our madness.

This article was written by Chris Erskine and appeared in the Los Angeles Times.

Concussion claims don't belong in courts - Ingles

2012-01-27T11:18:00.002-03:00

Former NFL players should not be permitted to sue for damages over concussions they suffered because player safety issues have long been governed by the league's collective bargaining agreements, an NFL attorney said Thursday.

"You don't get to come to court," league lawyer Beth Wilkinson said. "They should go through the process that's laid out in the agreement."

Wilkinson spoke following a hearing before the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, which is considering whether to consolidate 21 player lawsuits filed in six states before a single judge for pretrial matters. At least 300 former football players, plus an equal number of wives and other family members, are plaintiffs in the cases.

They include Hall of Famers Tony Dorsett, Lem Barney and Joe DeLamielleure and other stars such as Ottis Anderson, Mark Duper, Jim McMahon, Paul Krause and Marvin Jones. The vast majority, however, are players who toiled more obscurely in the game's trenches and often bounced from team to team. Some are suffering from degenerative brain diseases, depression and other mental ailments.

The six-judge panel made no immediate decision. Still, there was a clear consensus between player attorneys and the league to bring the cases to U.S. District Judge Anita Brody, who sits in Philadelphia where the first player lawsuits were filed.

"We can't go wrong there," said attorney Michael McGlamry of Atlanta.

The players accuse the NFL of negligence and misconduct for the way it responded to players' concussions and complaints of dizziness, headaches and related problems. The lawsuits also contend the NFL deliberately downplayed the dangers of head injuries despite knowing the risks.

The lawsuits seek unspecified damages and some want the NFL to pay for medical monitoring of former players to watch for future problems such as dementia and memory loss.

Wilkinson said the league will argue in court that the lawsuits should be dismissed because of the labor agreements, which typically called for mediation or arbitration in player safety disputes. She said the agreements have differed some over the years and the venue would be determined by the years each player was active.

"It's player by player and specific injuries," she said.

The cases are gaining national attention just as the NFL gears up for its annual showcase, the Feb. 5 Super Bowl in Indianapolis between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants.

League spokesman Greg Aiello said in an email that the NFL "has long made player safety a priority and continues to do so. Any allegation that the NFL intentionally sought to mislead players has no merit."

One ex-player who attended the hearing, safety Rich Miano, said he sees the lawsuits as potentially key to changing the culture of the NFL so that safety becomes paramount.

Miano, who played for the Jets, Eagles and Falcons from 1985 to 1995, said in his day "concussion wasn't a word in the forefront. It was more 'getting your bell rung.' 'Getting a stinger.' There was no sitting out a game."

"It was just 'Get back out there.' It was your job," he added.

Some lawsuits also name as a defendant helmet maker Riddell Sports Inc., claiming that it and the NFL essentially colluded to downplay the dangers of head injury. Player attorney Thomas Girardi said claims against Riddell should be included in the consolidation of cases.

"They were hand-in-hand with the NFL. We think we should all be in the same courtroom," Girardi said.

Riddell attorney Paul Cereghini said the company has pending motions to dismiss the lawsuits in California and that the lawsuits against it are different because they involve product liability claims, not negligence.

"We don't want to get caught in the crossfire, and we shouldn't get caught in the crossfire," he said.

This article was written by Curt Anderson and appeared in the Sacramento Bee.

Las Vegas fearing a Giants win - Ingles

2012-01-27T11:12:00.002-03:00

The New York Giants are currently raising the blood pressure in Las Vegas, more than a week and a half ahead of Super Bowl XLVI.

A victory by the Giants over the New England Patriots could cost some Vegas sports books a pretty penny as futures betting comes back to haunt them. A number of sports books in Nevada took significant bets on the Giants to win the Super Bowl at long odds earlier this season — some as high as 80 to 1 — putting some in a very precarious position if the Giants should knock off the Patriots in the Super Bowl again.

Futures wagering is active during the entire NFL season, and teams' odds to win the championship can fluctuate from week to week. When the Giants endured a four-game losing streak in November and December, their odds to win it all shot way up. The future payoff is based on whatever the odds were when a person makes a bet. So if the Giants had 80-1 odds to win it all and a bettor wages $100, the bettor would receive an $8,000 payout if the Giants claim the Lombardi Trophy.

Jay Kornegay, the director of the sports book at the Las Vegas Hilton told the New York Times:

I remember we opened them at about 20 to 1 last February, right after last year's Super Bowl. But when they hit that losing streak, it went up. I mean, they lost to Vince Young and the Eagles! We were lucky the bets didn't come our way, but there are some tickets out there. ... Even at the start of the playoffs we had them at 30 to 1 to win the Super Bowl. They had a very hard road."

Only a few months ago, Vegas sports books faced a similar scenario with baseball's St. Louis Cardinals. When the Cardinals were 10 1/2 games out of the playoffs with 32 games remaining in the regular season, their futures odds were extremely steep. Kornegay told the Times that he listed the Cardinals at 250 to 1 to win the World Series and 100 to 1 to win the National League pennant. "And we had action on both," he said.

For the actual Super Bowl game itself, most sports books have the Patriots as favorites with a spread of about 3 points, a markedly smaller line from the 12-point spread the Giants faced in the 2008 title game against New England.

This article was written by Ellen J Horrow and appeared in USA Today.

SUPER BOWL XLVI – INDIANAPOLIS – FACTS & FIGURES - Ingles

2012-01-26T12:23:00.002-03:00

SITE
Lucas Oil Stadium

DATE
February 5, 2012

TIME
6:00 PM (ET)

SUPER BOWL HOST CITIES (I – XLVI):

South Florida (10)
New Orleans (9)
Los Angeles (7)
Tampa Bay (4)
San Diego (3)
Arizona (2)
Atlanta (2)
Detroit (2)
Houston (2)
Indianapolis (1)
Jacksonville (1)
Minneapolis (1)
North Texas (1)
Stanford (1)

FUTURE SUPER BOWL SITES:
Super Bowl XLVII - New Orleans - February 3, 2013*
Super Bowl XLVIII - New York/New Jersey - February 2, 2014*

*Tentative date

SUPER BOWL XLVI TICKET BREAKDOWN:

League office: 25.2%
AFC Champion: 17.5%
NFC Champion: 17.5%
Other 29 clubs: 34.8% (1.2% each)
Host team: 5 %

TELEVISION NETWORK:
NBC (17th Super Bowl)

Super Bowls I, III, V, VII, IX, XI, XIII, XV, XVII, XX, XXIII, XXVII, XXVIII, XXX, XXXII, XLIII, XLVI

RADIO NETWORK:
Westwood One Radio Sports (English), Univision Radio (Spanish)

TELEVISION AUDIENCE FOR SUPER BOWL XLV:
Last year’s game was the most watched program in television history, with 162.9 million viewers in the United States. The Packers-Steelers championship game topped by 9.5 million the previous record of 153.4 million total viewers set last year (Colts-Saints in Super Bowl XLIV) and marks the fourth consecutive record-setting total audience for the Super Bowl. The game was broadcast to 180 countries and territories in over 30 different languages. Broadcasters from 13 countries called the game live from Cowboys Stadium. In addition, military personnel in 132 countries viewed the game on American Forces Network.

MEDIA ACCREDITATION FOR SUPER BOWL XLIV:
A record 5,082 journalists were accredited to cover Super Bowl XLV and related events, the most in Super Bowl history.

POSTSEASON SHARES – 2011 SEASON:
Wild Card Game
(Div. Winner) $22,000 ($21,000 in 2010)
(Other) $20,000 ($19,000 in 2010)
Divisional Playoff Game
$22,000 ($21,000 in 2010)
Conference Championship Game
$40,000 ($38,000 in 2010)
Super Bowl
(Winning Team) $88,000 ($83,000 in 2010)
(Losing Team) $44,000 ($42,000 in 2010)
Pro Bowl
(Winning Team) $50,000 ($45,000 in 2010)
(Losing Team) $25,000 ($22,500 in 2010)

* NOTE: A player on a division winner participating in the Wild Card round and winning the Super Bowl will receive a total of $172,000. A player on a Wild Card team which wins the Super Bowl will receive a total of $170,000.

HOME TEAM:
The AFC CHAMPION will wear its choice of jerseys.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Cost of the Vince Lombardi Trophy: $25,000

Maker of the Vince Lombardi Trophy:
Tiffany & Co. of New York

Cost of Super Bowl Rings:
The NFL pays for up to 150 rings at $5,000 per ring (plus adjustments for increases in gold and diamonds). The league also pays for 150 pieces of jewelry for the losing team which may not cost more than one-half the price set for the Super Bowl ring.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR – 2012 PRO BOWL - Ingles

2012-01-26T12:02:00.002-03:00

HIGH SCORE: It has been a banner year for offenses across the National Football League, thanks in part to high-flying passing attacks led by some of the game’s best quarterbacks. The 2012 NFC Pro Bowl roster will feature two record-setting QBs – Green Bay’s AARON RODGERS led the NFL with a 122.5 passer rating, a single-season NFL best, while New Orleans’ DREW BREES’ 5,476 passing yards surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO’s record for passing yards in a season.

The 2012 Pro Bowl will also be the first in series history to feature two rookie quarterbacks, CAM NEWTON of Carolina (NFC) and ANDY DALTON of Cincinnati (AFC).

Other quarterbacks taking part in the game include BEN ROETHLISBERGER of Pittsburgh, who will get the starting nod for the AFC, and PHILIP RIVERS of San Diego, who became the third quarterback in NFL history to pass for 4,000+ yards in four consecutive seasons (Brees, PEYTON MANNING).

High scores have been a recent trend at the Pro Bowl. In fact, the eight highest combined scores in Pro Bowl history have all occurred since 2000, including 96 points last year, the second-highest in Pro Bowl history.

The highest combined scores in Pro Bowl history:

YEAR-WINNER (PTS.)-LOSER (PTS.)-TOTAL POINTS

2004, NFC (55), AFC (52), 107
2011, NFC (55), AFC (41), 6
2000, NFC (51), AFC (31), 82
2010, AFC (41), NFC (34), 75
2008, NFC (42), AFC (30), 72
2002, AFC (38), NFC (30), 68
2003, AFC (45), NFC (20), 65
2005, AFC (38), NFC (27), 65

NFL NETWORK'S LIVE COVERAGE FEATURES PRO BOWL RECORD-HOLDER: Seven-time Pro Bowler and Pro Football Hall of Famer MARSHALL FAULK is joined by FRAN CHARLES and TOM WADDLE on-location in Hawaii for NFL Network's live coverage of AFC and NFC practices on Thursday from 2:30-5:30 PM ET and Saturday from 1:30-3:30 PM ET. Practice coverage includes interviews with All-Star players and coaches.

The trio returns on Sunday at 4:00 PM ET for the live three-hour NFL Total Access: Pro Bowl Pregame which leads up to the 7:00 PM ET game time on NBC. Faulk earned 1995 Pro Bowl MVP honors as a Colts rookie when he set still-standing records for rushing yards (180), longest run from scrimmage (49 yards) and yards per carry (13.9, min. 10 attempts).

ELDER STATESMAN: Two of the most frequent participants in Pro Bowl history have made the trip to Honolulu once again in 2012: Atlanta tight end TONY GONZALEZ and Denver cornerback CHAMP BAILEY are each poised to play in their 11th career Pro Bowl, which will tie for the third-most in since 1970.

Only Pro Football Hall of Famer RANDALL MC DANIEL and longtime Kansas City guard WILL SHIELDS, who both played in 12 Pro Bowls apiece, have more All-Star appearances during that span.

Gonzalez is also the all-time career Pro Bowl leader in the following categories: total touchdowns (six), receptions (42) and receiving yards (632). Bailey’s four career Pro Bowl interceptions are tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer DEION SANDERS and EVERSON WALLS for the most in the game’s history.

The players with the most Pro Bowl games played since 1971:

PLAYER-YEARS-PRO BOWLS

Randall McDaniel, Minnesota, 1990-2000; Tampa Bay, 2001, 12
Will Shields, Kansas City, 1996-2007, 12
Champ Bailey, Washington, 2001-04; Denver, 2005-08, 2010-12, 11
Tony Gonzalez*, Kansas City, 2000-01, 2003-09; Atlanta, 2011-12, 11
Reggie White**, Philadelphia, 1987-93; Green Bay, 1994, 1996-97, 1999, 11
Junior Seau*, San Diego, 1992-2002, 11
Rod Woodson, Pittsburgh, 1990-95, 1997; Baltimore, 2000-02; Oakland, 2003, 11
Lawrence Taylor, N.Y. Giants, 1982-1991, 10
Ronnie Lott, San Francisco, 1982-85, 1987-91; L.A. Raiders 1992, 10
Mike Singletary, Chicago, 1984-1993, 10
Bruce Matthews****, Houston, 1989-95, 1997; Tennessee, 2000, 2002, 10
Jerry Rice***, San Francisco, 1987-88, 1990-94,1996, 1999; Oakland, 2003, 10
Peyton Manning*, Indianapolis, 2000-01, 2003-09, 2011, 10

*Also selected, but did not play, in one additional game
**Also selected, but did not play, in two additional games
***Also selected but did not play, in three additional games
****Also selected, but did not play in four additional games

ALL HAIL THE “U”: Seven players named to the 2012 Pro Bowl roster played collegiately at the University of Miami (FL), more than any other college program.

Below is a breakdown of schools with at least four players named to the 2012 Pro Bowl squads:

COLLEGE-2012 PRO BOWL PLAYERS-NO.

Miami
RB Frank Gore, TE Jimmy Graham, RB Willis McGahee, C Chris Myers, LB Ray Lewis, DT Vince Wilfork, S Ed Reed
7

Auburn
QB Cam Newton, G Ben Grubbs, DT Jay Ratliff, CB Carlos Rogers
4

Georgia
WR A.J. Green, CB Champ Bailey, DT Richard Seymour, DT Geno Atkins
4

Pittsburgh
CB Darrelle Revis, WR Larry Fitzgerald, P Andy Lee, RB LeSean McCoy
4

20 PLAYERS SELECTED TO TAKE PART IN FIRST-EVER “NFL BUSINESS OF MUSIC BOOT CAMP” AT NYU’S CLIVE DAVIS INSTITUTE OF RECORDED MUSIC - Ingles

2012-01-26T11:46:00.002-03:00

Program for current & former players runs Feb 27-March 1 in New York.

Twenty current and former NFL players including seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver and NFL Network analyst TORRY HOLT and two-time All-Star defensive backs ANTOINE BETHEA and AL HARRIS will take part in the first-ever NFL Business of Music Boot Camp at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music in New York, it was announced today.

The program, which runs from February 27-March 1, is being directed by NFL Player Engagement and the Clive Davis Institute in NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and offers professional training for creative entrepreneurs in the music industry.

Following are the current and former NFL players enrolled in the NFL Business of Music Boot Camp:

Player - Current team (Former teams)

Marvin Austin - NYG
Antoine Bethea - IND
Keary Colbert - Former (CAR, DEN, SEA, DET, KC)
Justin Fargas - Former (OAK)
Al Harris - STL
Torry Holt - Former (STL, JAX)
Darren Howard - Former (NO, PHL)
Chris Kluwe - MIN
James Lee - TB
Brandon Lloyd - STL
Dustin Lyman - Former (CHI)
David Macklin - Former (IND, ARZ, WASH, KC)
Bryant McKinnie - BALT
Ryan McNeil - Former (DET, STL, CLE)
Chukky Okobi - Former (PIT, AZ)
Chris Pressley - CIN
Bryan Scott - BUF
L.J. Shelton - Former (AZ, CLE, MIA, SD)
Craig Terrill - Former (SEA)
Ashton Youboty - JAX

The Business of Music Boot Camp is part of an ongoing NFL Player Engagement initiative to assist players in preparing for their post-playing careers. Since 2005, more than 700 NFL players have participated in the NFL Business Management and Entrepreneurial Program. More than one-third of the 106 players who have taken part in the five NFL Broadcast Boot Camps have earned broadcasting jobs as a result of their participation in the program. In addition, each offseason more than 100 NFL players enroll in college courses as they work towards Master’s or Bachelor’s degrees while more than 120 pursue career internships.

Player enrollment criteria include previous participation in NFL Player Engagement programs, prior music experience, essays, and NFL playing experience. All costs other than travel are covered by the NFL.

Faculty members at the Business of Music Boot Camp will include:

CLIVE DAVIS, chief creative officer of Sony BMG, who has developed top performers including Janis Joplin, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Santana, Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, Whitney Houston, and Alicia Keys. He won a Grammy Trustee Award in 2000 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

DANNY STRICK, co-president of Sony/ATV Music Publishing. From pitching the Motown catalogue to rock acts with Jobete Music early in his career to becoming senior vice president and GM of BMG Music, Strick has held a number of influential positions in the publishing industry throughout his career.

JONATHAN DANIEL, a founder and partner at Crush Management, an artist management company that represents acts including Gym Class Heroes, Panic! At the Disco, Train, and Cobra Starship.

SAM HOLLANDER, a songwriter and producer whose work has often appeared in the Top 40 Pop Hits. He has written or produced for artists including Gym Class Heroes, Cobra Starship, Train, and Chiddy Bang.

AL BRANCH, the general manager at Hip Hop Since 1978, a management and production company whose roster boasts major figures Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Young Jeezy.

MICHAEL “BLUE” WILLIAMS, the CEO of Family Tree Entertainment, which recently merged with Primary Wave Music to create Family Tree Primary Wave. His client roster includes Cee Lo Green, Cody Simpson, and Eric Benet, and previous clients include OutKast, Monica and Big Sean.

MICHAEL SOLOMON, co-founder of Musicians on Call--a non-profit organization that brings music to the bedsides of patients in healthcare facilities--as well as the co-founder of Brick Wall Management, whose past and present roster includes artists John Mayer, Citizen Cope, and William Fitzsimmons.

LAS ESTRELLAS DE LA NFL ENTRAN EN ESCENA EN EL PRO BOWL 2012

2012-01-26T11:15:00.002-03:00

Lo mejor de la NFL estará en primera plana el domingo 29 de enero (7:00 PM, hora de New York, NBC), cuando el Pro Bowl 2012 dé inicio a la semana del Super Bowl.

El juego de los Todo-Estrella de la NFL tendrá lugar una vez más en el Aloha Stadium de Honolulu, Hawai, y y será el evento que confirme el arranque de la semana que llevará al Super Bowl XLVI, a disputarse entre los New England Patriots y los New York Giants en Indianapolis (domingo 5 de febrero, NBC).

“Ser seleccionado para representar al equipo de la NFC en el Pro Bowl es tremendo honor”, se enorgullece el ala cerrada de los New Orleans Saints JIMMY GRAHAM. “Creo que cualquier sujeto que sea nombrado al Pro Bowl se puede dar cuenta de que es un halago de aquellos y estoy agradecido por ello.”

Por tercer año consecutivo, el Pro Bowl será disputado la semana previa al Super Bowl. El Pro Bowl 2011 fue visto, a través de FOX, por un promedio de 13.4 millones de televidentes, la mayor cantidad para un Pro Bowl desde 1997 (13.5 millones), convirtiéndose en el juego Todo-Estrella más visto de cualquier deporte desde 2009.

El año pasado, la NFC igualó la mayor cantidad de puntos anotadas en un solo juego de este tipo al derrotar a la AFC 55-41 (la NFC también anotó 55 puntos en 2004). El esquinero de los Washington Redskins DE ANGELO HALL fue nombrado el Jugador Más Valioso (MVP, por sus siglas en inglés) del Pro Bowl 2011, registrando una intercepción, regresando un balón suelto 34 yardas hasta la anotación y acumulando seis tacleadas en solitario. El juego de 2012 es el 42º entre los Todo-Estrellas de la AFC y de la NFC, siendo el equipo de la Conferencia Nacional el que tiene una leve ventaja en la serie histórica: 21-20.

Los equipos de 43 jugadores están compuestos por 21 ofensivos y 17 defensivos, además de cinco especialistas, incluyendo un sacador en largo. El equipo Todo-Estrella de la AFC será encabezado por GARY KUBIAK y los entrenadores de los Houston Texans, mientras que MIKE MC CARTHY y el cuerpo de entrenadores de los Green Bay Packers estará al mando de la escuadra de la NFC.

Los San Francisco 49ers encabezan la NFL con nueve jugadores seleccionados al Pro Bowl 2012 –el pateador DAVID AKERS, el profundo DASHON GOLDSON, el corredor FRANK GORE, el despejador ANDY LEE, el sacador en largo BRIAN JENNINGS, el esquinero CARLOS ROGERS, el ala defensiva JUSTIN SMITH, el tackle JOE STALEY y el apoyador PATRICK WILLIS.

La NFL es la única liga deportiva profesional que combina la votación de aficionados, entrenadores y jugadores para determinar sus equipos Todo-Estrella. El voto consensuado de cada grupo cuenta un tercio del total. Cada equipo emite dos sufragios –uno por parte de los entrenadores y otro por los jugadores, estando no permitido votar por un jugador de su propio equipo. Este año, más de 100 millones de votos de aficionados fueron efectuados a través de NFL.com y dispositivos móviles.

Bajo los términos del Convenio Colectivo de Trabajo, cada jugador del equipo ganador del Pro Bowl recibe 50,000 dólares, mientras que a cada uno de la escuadra perdedora se le otorgan 25,000 dólares.

El Pro Bowl fue celebrado consecutivamente entre 1980 y 2009 en el Aloha Stadium de Honolulu, se mudó al Sun Life Stadium en el Sur de la Florida en 2010 y luego regresó a Hawaii en 2011.

Los aficionados puede adquirir boletos para el Pro Bowl 2012 en www.NFL.com/probowl o www.ticketmaster.com.

The Film Archivist of Legendary Football Preps for Game Day - Ingles

2012-01-26T11:11:00.001-03:00

When N.F.L. Films put a microphone on the Denver Broncos’ surprise star Tim Tebow during a game against the Chicago Bears last month, it knew that every one of its television partners would want a piece of the audio and video of the quarterback.

So each was given a piece, stoking the country’s interest in Mr. Tebow. ESPN’s “N.F.L. Matchup” show replayed his technical conversations in the huddle. Showtime’s “Inside the N.F.L.” shared his singing — “our God is an awesome God” — during warm-ups. Parts of the “wire,” as the N.F.L. calls the player and coach microphones, also were played on NBC Sports Network’s “N.F.L. Turning Point,” on ESPN’s “Sunday N.F.L. Countdown” and on NFL.com. For the N.F.L. Network, the audio was even turned into an hourlong special.

There’s only so much that happens on any given Sunday of the football season, but there is a seemingly insatiable appetite for it on television. So the assignment for N.F.L. Films is “to take the same material and make it entertaining in different ways for different shows, for different styles of fans,” said Ross Ketover, who along with Pat Kelleher is a senior coordinating producer and oversees the 65 producers who slice and dice games for the division. They said they created a thousand hours of new programming last year.

While television networks focus on the live events each week, their division films the games — yes, much is still on actual 16-millimeter film — for an array of future purposes. They are simultaneously documenting the history of the sport, promoting the National Football League and providing an important revenue source.

“I’ve always felt that a camera is an instrument of realism — and a creator of myth,” said Steve Sabol, whose father, Ed, founded what became N.F.L. Films in 1962. All together, the decades of films have given football a mythology that no other American sport has matched.

Some of N.F.L. Films’ footage is woven into films, commercials, and future installments of “Football Follies,” the blooper reels that Johnny Carson helped make famous on “The Tonight Show.” But much of it — like that of Mr. Tebow on Dec. 11 — is turned around much more quickly so it can be shown on TV before next week’s games. The unit has special couriers who rush raw film from stadiums to its building in Mount Laurel, N.J., near Philadelphia, where it is processed.

In essence, the shows keep fans entertained on the days when games are not played.

When Comcast was preparing last year to turn its Versus channel into the NBC Sports Network, executives who were searching for new programming immediately thought of N.F.L. Films, said Jon Miller, the network’s president for programming. “They share a similar storytelling philosophy as we do,” Mr. Miller said.

Around the same time, when Discovery was turning HD Theater into Velocity, a channel for affluent men, executives bought two N.F.L. Films history shows and found that it helped get attention from advertisers. “A relationship with the world’s most powerful sports brand lent us instant credibility right out of the gate,” said Bob Scanlon, the senior vice president of Velocity.

N.F.L. Films has a total of nine television partners now, including with one of its siblings, the N.F.L. Network, which was founded by the league eight years ago but is still not available on several major cable systems. N.F.L. Films is responsible for about a quarter of the network’s taped schedule; shows like “Sound FX” double as weekly advertisements for the network.

The unit is part of the nonprofit N.F.L.’s profit-making N.F.L. Media division, which also runs the N.F.L. Network, N.F.L. RedZone channel and other properties. Revenues are not disclosed, but N.F.L. Media accounted for about 50 percent of the league’s $9 billion take in 2011. Most of N.F.L. Media’s revenue comes from live TV rights, but N.F.L. Films represents something more enduring — the footage can be used and reused in perpetuity.

Mr. Sabol is being treated for a brain tumor and has difficulty speaking, but said he comes into work each day. “I’m in the game, but I only have about eight players on my team,” he said with a laugh on the phone last week. He expressed pride in the many innovations of N.F.L. Films — microphones on players, super-slow-motion shots, reverse angle replays, montage editing.

In some ways the N.F.L. was far ahead of others in its recognition that it was in the media business, and should create its own content accordingly, bypassing the usual media makers.

The films unit frequently conceives and pitches shows to networks, and also churns out DVDs with titles like “Two Minutes to Glory,” looking back at past games and legendary players. Lately it has increased its amount of films for television, like “A Football Life,” which followed the New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick for the 2009-10 season and appeared on the N.F.L. Network last fall, and “Namath,” about the quarterback Joe Namath, which will be shown on HBO this week.

“They embrace and approach every project like it is the only production on the N.F.L. Films calendar,” said Rick Bernstein, the executive producer of HBO Sports, which has been a partner of N.F.L. Films since 1977.

The N.F.L. Films producers say they collaborate with the networks but have control over what is and isn’t seen, which is why their programs are sometimes criticized as propagandistic. Mr. Ketover responded, “We are trying to promote the game, no doubt, but we are doing it by being objective documentarians.”

The most popular content is often from the wire, like the one Mr. Tebow was wearing. N.F.L. Films wires about 100 players and coaches each season, up from about 25 a decade ago. “Our viewers, they want to see the game, but they also want to hear the game,” Mr. Kelleher said.

Already his producers are busy preparing for the most important football day of the year, the Super Bowl, which will be played on Feb. 5. Because they try to release a DVD about the winning team within weeks, they were simultaneously preparing four films about the four semifinalists last week, assuming that each might be the winner. (After Sunday’s games, they stopped production on two of the films.)

And they’ll have a production truck on site for something that they produce even faster: the commercial that has a player proclaim, “I’m going to Disney World!” Yes, N.F.L. Films even produces that.

(source New York Times)

Giants deny targeting concussed Williams - Ingles

2012-01-26T11:04:00.002-03:00

Two days after two Giants players made an opponent with a history of concussions a target, the team did its best to back away from the notion and the N.F.L. said it would not impose discipline.

In comments to reporters after the Giants’ victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Jacquian Williams, a rookie linebacker, said the Giants were aware that 49ers punt returner Kyle Williams had sustained head injuries and tried to capitalize on that information. Kyle Williams muffed one punt return, and lost a fumble on another one in overtime that set up the Giants’ winning field goal.

“The thing is, we knew he had four concussions, so that was our biggest thing, to take him out of the game,” Jacquian Williams said of Kyle Williams, who had replaced the injured Ted Ginn Jr. as San Francisco’s punt returner.

Devin Thomas, a wide receiver and special-teams player who recovered the ball both times, said: “He’s had a lot of concussions. We were just like, ‘We’ve got to put a hit on that guy.’ ”

Neither Williams nor Thomas was made available to reporters Tuesday, but defensive end Justin Tuck dismissed the suggestion that the Giants would focus on a player’s head.

“Obviously, we consider ourselves to be a physical group and we want to hit everybody,” Tuck said. “But I don’t think we’ve ever talked about knocking anybody out with concussions or anything like that. We kind of stay away from that.”

Tuck added: “It’s not like we weren’t trying to hit him. We were definitely trying to get a lot of hats on him because he might not have been as comfortable back there as say a Ted Ginn, who had been there all year. But as far as trying to knock him out of the football game? No.”

When linebacker Michael Boley was asked about the issue, he said flatly: “We didn’t talk about it. Concussions are a big deal. Obviously, we don’t want to hurt anybody. We’re a fraternity of brothers all across the league. We don’t want to see anybody get hurt.”

Greg Aiello, a spokesman for the league, wrote in an e-mail that the Giants would not face any penalties for their comments.

“Players are held accountable for their actions on the field,” Aiello said. “There were no illegal hits to the head or neck area against Kyle Williams on Sunday. There was no conduct by the Giants of any kind that would suggest an effort to injure Kyle Williams in any way.”

This article was written by Sam Borden and appeared in the New York Times.

Peyton Manning opens up on Colts, health, and Rob Lowe - Ingles

2012-01-26T11:00:00.001-03:00

Sorry Rob Lowe.

Peyton Manning is not retiring, at least not any time soon.

"I never thought 'Sodapop Curtis' would announce my retirement," Manning said, laughing, referring to Lowe's character in the 1983 movie The Outsiders. "I always thought I would be the one to announce it. I'm a huge fan of the movie, but that caught me way off guard. I can't explain it. I know he (Lowe) is a friend of Jim's (Irsay), and Jim sounded surprised."

So no, Manning isn't on the cusp of retirement. In a wide-ranging, exclusive interview with The Star on Monday night, the Colts' future Hall of Fame quarterback addressed a number of pressing topics, including his health, his sadness over the firings of several coaches, his minimal relationship with new general manager Ryan Grigson and the future.

For the record, Manning and Grigson finally met, briefly, last week when the two ran across each other in the facility.

"One thing he (Grigson) kind-of, sort-of told me, without really wanting to tell me, was that Irsay will be the guy I'm going to sit down and talk with," Manning said. "That's going to happen at some point, but we haven't had that conversation yet because we really don't need to have that conversation yet."

Aside from Eli Manning's victory in the NFC title game in San Francisco, where Peyton was present to celebrate with his brother, this has been a rough week for Peyton — and for a lot of the people who've made this one of the most successful organizations in sports over the years. Change is never easy.

"I'm not in a very good place for healing, let's say that," he said, referring to the practice facility. "It's not a real good environment down there right now, to say the least. Everybody's walking around on eggshells. I don't recognize our building right now. There's such complete and total change."

Manning didn't express anger about the firing of Jim Caldwell and so many assistant coaches as much as he expressed sadness, wistfulness even.

He was working out with strength and conditioning coach Jon Torine last week when word came down that Torine had been relieved of his duties. One day later, after Torine had cleaned out his office, he ran Manning one more time, for old time's sake.

"It was tough," Manning said. "Very emotional."

It's been difficult with all the coaches, many of whom have been with Manning since the beginning, or at least close to it. This franchise has been a model of stability and continuity; now it's all about change. When Manning hasn't been rehabilitating, he's been calling other franchises and offering recommendations on behalf of the departed coaches.

"One of the things about football is, it's a relationship business," Manning said. "Sometimes guys get fired, it goes across the ticker, 'Jim Caldwell got fired' and that's that. But when it's every day in a relationship business … with Bill (Polian), with Marvin (Harrison), Edge (James), guys who retire, get cut, traded or fired, it's just really hard. I don't think I have an emotion for it.

"The new (management) team doesn't have a relationship with these guys like I do, and I know a lot of players feel that way about them (the departing coaches), too."

He continued:

"I mean, it's 20 degrees, it's snowing, the building is absolutely empty except when you see coaches cleaning out their offices," he said. "I guess it's the reality of the football world, just not something I've had to deal with very often. But I'm in there every day, so I have to sit there and see it. Everybody's being evaluated and I'm no different. It's not the best environment.

"I just want to pay tribute to all those guys. It's unfortunate because so many of them have been such a big part of so many big wins here, and this is so … sudden. Their keys didn't work the next day. There's no other way to do it? I don't know. That's hard to see, all these people leaving.

"And I may be behind them. Who knows?"

The question was posed: Given all the changes, the fact the Colts appear to be in a rebuilding mode, does Manning even want to come back to Indianapolis?

"I don't want to get into some kind of fan campaign with the owner, but I think it's well documented that I want to play in the same place my whole career," Manning said. "It's been a privilege to play here. I love the fans, the city, the transformation of the fans, how our place has become the toughest stadium to play in, the fact our fans wear more jerseys to games than anybody else. It's been fun to be a part of that.

"But I understand how it works. I understand tough decisions have to be made. There's personal and there's business and that's where we've got to separate the two. I've seen other guys leave places and it was personal. I've invested too much into this city for that to happen. We live here, we've given lots of time and money to the community and our church, and that's never going to change Nothing changes that.

"Whatever happens, happens. I can't give you a prediction because Jim (Irsay) and I will sit down at some point and he'll get a feel for where I am and I'll get a sense of what direction he wants to go. Right now, I have no idea."

As for Manning's health, he's not all the way back yet, but he's not going to put any kinds of percentages on his recovery, nor will he predict whether he'll be at full strength by early March, when the $28 million option bonus is due. At this point, he just doesn't know.

"You've been around me: You know I don't like to say something like, 'There's no way I can play Sunday,' then come out and play Sunday and everybody in the media is writing 'I can't believe he's playing,'" Manning said. "I'm not into the drama. And I'm not into saying, 'Well, this is it, I sure have enjoyed it.' I'm not into saying goodbye. All I know is I'm still under contract to the Colts. I'm still the quarterback of the Colts That's why I'm in the building every day trying to get healthy."

Manning continues to work out daily and throw to his beloved and overworked equipment guys, but this past Sunday, he got out of the facility. After watching the first two Giants' playoff games from the workout room, Peyton decided to surprise Eli and show up Sunday in San Francisco.

I asked if he told Eli it was his job to protect his Lucas Oil Stadium turf from the hated Patriots.

He laughed.

"Well, I've already gone to work for him, getting all my teammates, trying to get their two-ticket allotments," Manning said. "That's what he did for me two years ago and I did that for him four years ago. And I'm helping any way I can, getting him restaurant reservations around town for him and his teammates. Jim (Irsay) called after the game and offered any kind of help he could give, which was generous.

"As far as helping him with the Patriots, really, he doesn't need to talk to me. He played them seven weeks ago. We'll talk about things they do when you face them a second time in the same year, but he knows them better than I do right now.

"It was fun Sunday, we talked about third and long situations, the defense San Francisco likes to play. They've got (former Colts defensive coordinator) Vic Fangio, and we were saying, 'In this situation, they run this particular coverage, three rushing and eight in coverage, and there are only certain places you can throw it.' I didn't tell him to throw that post route on the touchdown, but that was the kind of defense he was seeing. So it's kind of fun to talk about that stuff.'"

Now, then, Manning will try to enjoy the Super Bowl madness, will continue to work out at the facility (until the team is kicked out to make way for the, gag, Patriots) and wait to see what unfolds in the front office. If and when the Colts are ready to talk — likely in February — Manning will be easy to find.

"I'm in the facility every day," he said. "I'm right there. They know where to find me."

When it's time to make an announcement one way or the other, Manning hopes he can do it on his own terms.

"Hopefully, Sodapop Curtis doesn't tweet it before I can say anything," he said.

This article was written by Bob Kravitz and appeared in USA Today.

NFL's Most Popular Players & Merchandise - Ingles

2012-01-26T10:56:00.002-03:00

As the NFL season draws to a close, Nextag.com, the largest online comparison shopping site with over 500M annual users, provides insight on the most popular players this season.

Jersey sales, among other football merchandise, are often seen as a proxy for the most admired players. Nextag.com can gauge a player’s popularity by extracting data on how people vote with their wallets. So, who has the most popular jersey in the NFL and what does Nextag offer die-hard football fans? See below for information from the week ending 1/20/12.

·Despite the Denver Broncos loss, Tebow’s jersey continues to be the most sought-after merchandise, followed by the New England Patriots’ - Tom Brady and Wes Walker.
·Patriot fans can further gear up for Superbowl XLVI with thousands of Patriot items, including plaques, recliners, sofas, lawn signs, ear warmers, tote bags and golf gift sets to sate the need that fills every Patriot fan’s heart.
·From Patrick Willis Jerseys to flashlights, Nextag has savings on everything you need to see and dress like the players on the field, as they engage in their special brand of lights-out football.
·Pittsburgh Steelers and other eliminated teams can pick up the Terrible Towel, which is not only great for cheering, but handy for weeping into when your team disappoints.
·Baltimore has a saying, “Money ain’t got no owners, just spenders.” But, doesn’t it still feel good to snag a bargain on Ravens jerseys and collectibles? Oh, indeed.

Estamos de vuelta y como no volver con el SUPER BOWL

2012-01-26T10:43:00.002-03:00

Disculpas a nuestros lectores de tanto tiempo de silencio, cuestiones de salud, trabajo y otros problemas que mejor no contar estamos volviendo para cubrir el Super Bowl XLVI como todos los años.
En algunos minutos estaremos poniendo notas de actualidad de la NFL y el camino al Lucas Oil Stadium en Indianapolis.

Saludos a todos.
NMF

Goodell envisions an NFL franchise in London - Ingles

2011-10-25T13:14:00.001-03:00

The NFL is considering a plan to have a few teams play regularly in Britain to build an overseas following -- part of the league's evaluation about whether a franchise could be permanently based in London.

Commissioner Roger Goodell said Saturday the league is looking into whether such a scenario would "advance our cause here by growing the fan base quicker." He is talking to several teams about becoming regulars in the British capital, a development he thinks would be "very powerful and lead us to what we ultimately would like to do -- have a franchise here in London."

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are making their second trip in three years to Wembley to play the Chicago Bears on Sunday. It is the fifth regular-season game held in London since 2007.

The league decided this month to keep playing in London through at least 2016, with an aim to play at least two games a year.

Goodell said multiple games in Britain could happen as early as next year, and he hopes more teams will agree to make regular trips.

"We want as many teams to come over. We want to see the more popular teams come over," Goodell said at a question-and-answer session with international fans. "Should we focus on just a couple of teams as consistently coming back here to build a fan base around those teams? The Bucs are coming back now for a second time in a five-year period of time. And the idea is, will that allow them to build a fan base quicker?"

Goodell praised the Glazer family, which owns both the Bucs and Premier League team Manchester United, for taking a leading role in promoting the game overseas. He said the Bucs are one of several teams the league has been in discussions with over more London visits.

"Obviously, the Glazer family has an interest over here with Man U," Goodell said. "And I think they want to see the Bucs become a global franchise. And I think that's a great thing for Tampa. I think it's a great thing for the NFL."

The league's ambitions haven't been dampened by a decrease in ticket sales this year. Sunday's game is the first of the five regular-season games at Wembley that is not expected to be a sellout. Organizers say an estimated 75,000 tickets have been sold, with the stadium's capacity about 82,000.

Goodell echoed organizers' claims that the lower sales were caused by the lockout, which meant tickets didn't go on sale until September -- several months later than usual.

"We started late," Goodell said. "But we're thrilled with our ticket sales. We obviously love to sell as many as we have, and we're still selling."

He said the NFL has no plans to play in other European countries in the near future, looking to establish as big a presence as possible in Britain first.

"We want to bring our game to continental Europe. The issue is, we want to make a success out of it in the U.K.," he said. "We think this (London) has got all of the basics that we need to be successful. It's got an advanced fan base, a strong media market, a great stadium. We have a long history here. So all those things contribute, let's make it work. And if we can be successful here, then we can take that model, potentially, to continentalhttp://cms.lixar.net/sbn/index.php?fuseaction=news_items.add Europe."

Goodell was joined by Jerome Bettis, the former Pittsburgh Steelers running back who is one of several NFL stars who have flown to London to promote the game. "The Bus" was given a warm reception by a knowledgeable group of about 100 fans, but said he's had to tweak his nickname this week to fit in.

"I'm a double-decker now," he said.This article was written by Mattias Karen and appeared in The Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Goodell: Bucs interested in playing a home game in London every year - Ingles

2011-10-25T13:12:00.002-03:00

The Bucs have expressed an interest in playing a home game in London every year, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Saturday. This article was written by Rick Stroud and appeared in the St. Petersburg Times.

Speaking at a fan forum in London at the Landmark Hotel, Goodell said the league's owners have agreed to play two regular season games in London starting next year.

Goodell said the Bucs, who will play their second game in two years at Wembley Stadium Sunday, are among several teams that have expressed an interest in playing a game in London annually.

"They've shown an interest just by being here two out of three years,'' Goodell said. "I think we want to try to get as many teams back here but teams are interested in coming back consistently or more frequently, we're going to continue to look at that.

"We've talked to several teams about it and Tampa is one of them.''

The Bucs have had 16 of their past 17 games at Raymond James Stadium subject to local television blackouts because they failed to sell out 72 hours prior to kickoff. Goodell said he is sensitive to the reaction of Bucs fans possibly losing a home game each year. But he said that in some ways, it will continue to reduce the price of season tickets and increase demand.

"Sure. I mean, we've had to deal with this in Buffalo, too, where they're playing a game in Toronto,'' Goodell said. "In fact, in some ways, it helped strengthen the team in Buffalo because it makes less tickets available, it's less of a charge for season ticket holders in Buffalo or Tampa, if that was the case. And that's a positive in some ways. So we continue to look at how we do it balancing the interest of the clubs, obviously.''

Goodell said NFL owners decided within the past two weeks to play multiple games at Wembley Stadium and the only question is to determine whether to play those games in consecutive weeks or space them apart.

"That's a debate we're having internally about what the best structure is,'' Goodell said.

"I would expect multiple games here as early as next year.

"We are very focused on having multiple games here and we think we can be successful. Our audience has grown dramatically. I think it's doubled since we started a regular game series here in the U.K., and that's based on ratings around the U.K...We want to bring our game to continental Europe. The issue is we want to make a success out of the U.K. We think this has all the basics we need to be successful. It's got a great fan base, an advanced media market and a great stadium. We have a long history here. So with all of those things...let's make it work, and if we can be successful here, we can take that model potentially to continental Europe.''

The Glazer family, which owns both the Bucs and the Manchester United soccer club, has been at the forefront of wanting to brand their NFL franchise globally.

"One of the things that's changed over the last five years when we changed our strategy to bring regular season games here is the amount of interest of teams to come here,'' Goodell said. "They want to come here to play. We're actually now in a position where we're telling a lot of teams 'sorry, maybe next year.' That's a good thing for fans I think because we'll see more teams coming over here and exposing their teams to the marketplace.

"The Buccaneers have taken a real interest in it. Obviously, the Glazer family has an interest over here with Man U and I think they recognize that the growth of the league is important and they've been leaders in this area so they've stepped up in that position. And I think they want the Bucs to become a global franchise and I think it's a great thing for Tampa and I think it's a great thing for the NFL.''

Earlier this week, Bucs general manager Mark Dominik said he had not had any discussions with the Glazers about playing a regular season game in London every year. But he certainly didn't sound opposed to it.

He noted that the travel was only 1 1/2 hours longer than a trip to the west coast. This year, the Bucs arrived in London on Monday, gave the players their normal Tuesday off to tour the city and then began practicing 45 minutes away at their hotel in Bagshot, England. The arrangement allowed players to bond and adjust to the time zone easier than in 2009, when the team arrived in London on Friday. This article was written by Rick Stroud and appeared in the St. Petersburg Times.

Redskins and Al Davis - Ingles

2011-10-25T13:10:00.001-03:00

1. In 1988, the Redskins traded quarterback Jay Schroeder to the Raiders for offensive tackle Jim Lachey – one of Bobby Beathard’s brainier moves. The Redskins also received two ’89 draft picks in the swap, a No. 4 and a No. 5.

When the ’89 draft rolled around, the Raiders were sitting with the 11th pick of the fourth round (95th overall) and the 10th pick of the fifth (122nd). So Davis called Beathard and reminded him he owed the Redskins a pick in the fourth and fifth rounds, according to the terms of the deal, but not necessarily the Raiders’ pick.

“If you want my picks,” he said, “you have to give me something in return. Otherwise, I’ll trade down in those rounds as far as I can, and those are the picks you’ll get.

Bobby just laughed and said, “Go ahead, Al. Trade away.”

Davis started dialing. When he was done, he’d traded down in the fourth round, from 95 to 110, and picked up a six-rounder (165). He’d also traded down in the fifth, from 122 to 139, and picked up an eighth-rounder (223).

He then packaged the No. 6 and No. 8 to move up in the sixth round and draft a running back out of North Dakota State named Doug Lloyd. Lloyd played exactly one game in the NFL, in 1991, and neither carried the ball nor caught any passes. That’s what Al got for all his maneuvering: 60 minutes of special teams duty, presumably, by a guy who never suited up in the league again. (Now you know why Beathard laughed.)

But, hey: waste not, want not.

2. It’s several hours after the Raiders’ rout of the Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII – around midnight, maybe a little past. The Washington Times sports staff is hunkered down in a Denny’s near the Tampa airport, getting some much-needed sustenance. Suddenly, there’s a stir over by the entrance. Heads raise. Necks crane.

Al Davis has just walked through the door with movie star James Garner – a Raiders fan of the stand-on-the-sideline type – and a few other members of his entourage. Davis might be a three-time Super Bowl winner but, populist that he is, he’s grabbing a bite in an all-night diner (owned – who knew? – by future Panthers owner Jerry Richardson) instead of clinking champagne glasses in a penthouse overlooking the city.

There’s a smattering of applause as Davis’ group makes its way to its table. Plenty of females – waitresses and customers both – have their picture taken with Garner, and he and Al scribble a couple of autographs. Finally, things settle down and the Raiders owner orders some food.

A short time later, Tom Jackson, then one of the Times’ columnists, utters the immortal words:

“Al just put ketchup on his pasta.”
This article was written by Al Davis and appeared in the Washington Times.

Land around Miami Dolphins stadium eyed for casinos - Ingles

2011-10-25T13:08:00.003-03:00

The Miami Dolphins may want the land surrounding their football stadium to be considered for a casino license, and have dispatched a lobbyist to preserve that option should Florida lawmakers approve a landmark expansion of gambling.

Also on Friday, the Miami Beach Convention Center emerged as a potential casino site. City and county officials said developers looking for ways to snag coveted gambling licenses have floated the idea of razing the complex and remaking it as a modern convention center combined with a casino resort.

“That has been talked about. People have said maybe this is a place to put” a casino, Miami Beach Mayor Matti Bower said. “To me, this is a distraction from the real job of getting a new convention center.”

Both sites bring extensive complications. The National Football League prohibits any ties to gambling, while Miami Beach, which owns the convention center, has a policy opposing gambling. For years, the city has been exploring a major overhaul of the convention center that would include a hotel.

Despite the obstacles, the addition of two new potential casino locations — joining land near the Donald Trump hotels and condo towers in Sunny Isles Beach, Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Miami Herald headquarters in Miami and an area in Miami’s Park West neighborhood — shows just how quickly the notion of gambling has scrambled South Florida’s real estate ambitions.

The Dolphins team itself couldn’t own or operate a casino because of the NFL rules. But holding companies tied to the team and its majority owner, Stephen Ross, own large tracts of land around the stadium, just south of the Broward-Dade line. Ross has always envisioned the area as an entertainment destination beyond sports, and last year announced plans for a 20-acre water park across from Sun Life Stadium.

Should the Dolphins succeed in making its land eligible for a casino license, Ross could sell or lease the land and enjoy the profits as well as spillover traffic and spending from gamblers traveling to a casino owned by someone else.

State Rep. Erik Fresen, the Miami legislator drafting a bill that would grant South Florida licenses for three casino resorts, said he has met with Dolphins lobbyist Ron Book on the matter. He described the Dolphins as “interested” in casinos and wanting to protect the team’s interest in case Florida approves large gambling resorts.

“I think they may have some interest, and may be petitioning for a license,’’ he said in an interview Friday at a Coral Gables luncheon of the Beacon Council, Miami-Dade’s economic development agency.

In a statement, the Dolphins emphasized the team itself would not pursue a casino. But the team also suggested it wanted to preserve its site as a player in the gambling debate.

The three-paragraph statement stated: “NFL regulations prohibit any direct involvement by the team and/or its owners in the operation of a gaming facility so neither Steve Ross or the Dolphins have any plans to enter the casino business.

“As it pertains to the pending legislation on this matter in Tallahassee, we support all measures that add value and job growth to our local and state economy.

“We have engaged our lobbyist, Ron Book, to represent our interest in Tallahassee on this matter to ensure that — should the legislation be passed and opportunities arise — Miami Gardens is positioned to compete for casino operators who may have an interest in a North Dade location, an area that is certainly in dire need of pursuing new economic development opportunities.”

Book said Friday that the more than 100 acres around the stadium are “ready to go” for a casino resort, and that gambling companies would be interested in operating there. He said it was his responsibility to protect the Dolphins’ interest in the real estate the team owns, even if the team itself couldn’t open a casino.

“Ron Book, who works for the Dolphins, is trying to make sure that if a bill does pass, my client has a property that is available for some sort of destination facility,” Book said. The gambling industry refers to large casino hotels as “destination resorts.”

Book added: “There are lot of people in the casino business that will see the value of a property that is ready to go. Those same people in the casino industry will see the value in the entertainment possibilities that stadium offers.”

It’s not known if a developer or casino company is focusing on the Miami Beach site. The idea of a casino there was first floated in April by mayoral candidate Steve Berke, a comedian and former reality star.

Though barely a notion at the start of 2011, casino gambling rocketed to the top of the state legislative agenda in May when Southeast Asia’s largest casino operator, Genting Group, paid $236 million for The Miami Herald site on the Miami waterfront. It later announced plans to build what could be the largest casino in the world, promising tens of thousands of jobs and a tourist attraction like nothing South Florida has ever seen.

Critics see the push as a dangerous turning point for Miami at a time when the city’s urban core is emerging as a popular dining and arts district. They warn a Genting casino and one Sands from Las Vegas wants in nearby Park West would bring a long list of woes, from sucking customers from existing businesses to paralyzing traffic.

But as hinted in the Dolphins’ statement, supporters point to new employment for a beleaguered economy.

In his remarks at the Beacon Council lunch, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez touted casinos’ ability to bring “viable job creation” to a county where unemployment sits at above 11 percent.

Dolphins CEO Mike Dee declined to be interviewed on the casino matter. His office released the statement Friday after Fresen made his comments.

Fresen said he did not know if the Dolphins would pursue a casino, and that the team mostly wanted to monitor the legislation. He said he expected to file his much-anticipated bill as early as Monday. This article was written by Douglas Hanks and appeared in The Palm Beach Post.

Goodell: some teams could be London regulars - Ingles

2011-10-25T13:06:00.001-03:00

The NFL is considering a plan to have a few teams play regularly in Britain to build an overseas following -- part of the league's evaluation about whether a franchise could be permanently based in London.

Commissioner Roger Goodell said Saturday the league is looking into whether such a scenario would "advance our cause here by growing the fan base quicker." He is talking to several teams about becoming regulars in the British capital, a development he thinks would be "very powerful and lead us to what we ultimately would like to do -- have a franchise here in London."

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are making their second trip in three years to Wembley to play the Chicago Bears on Sunday. It is the fifth regular-season game held in London since 2007.

The league decided this month to keep playing in London through at least 2016, with an aim to play at least two games a year.

Goodell said multiple games in Britain could happen as early as next year, and he hopes more teams will agree to make regular trips.

"We want as many teams to come over. We want to see the more popular teams come over," Goodell said at a question-and-answer session with international fans. "Should we focus on just a couple of teams as consistently coming back here to build a fan base around those teams? The Bucs are coming back now for a second time in a five-year period of time. And the idea is, will that allow them to build a fan base quicker?"

Goodell praised the Glazer family, which owns both the Bucs and Premier League team Manchester United, for taking a leading role in promoting the game overseas. He said the Bucs are one of several teams the league has been in discussions with over more London visits.

"Obviously, the Glazer family has an interest over here with Man U," Goodell said. "And I think they want to see the Bucs become a global franchise. And I think that's a great thing for Tampa. I think it's a great thing for the NFL."

The league's ambitions haven't been dampened by a decrease in ticket sales this year. Sunday's game is the first of the five regular-season games at Wembley that is not expected to be a sellout. Organizers say an estimated 75,000 tickets have been sold, with the stadium's capacity about 82,000.

Goodell echoed organizers' claims that the lower sales were caused by the lockout, which meant tickets didn't go on sale until September -- several months later than usual.

"We started late," Goodell said. "But we're thrilled with our ticket sales. We obviously love to sell as many as we have, and we're still selling."

He said the NFL has no plans to play in other European countries in the near future, looking to establish as big a presence as possible in Britain first.

"We want to bring our game to continental Europe. The issue is, we want to make a success out of it in the U.K.," he said. "We think this (London) has got all of the basics that we need to be successful. It's got an advanced fan base, a strong media market, a great stadium. We have a long history here. So all those things contribute, let's make it work. And if we can be successful here, then we can take that model, potentially, to continental Europe."

Goodell was joined by Jerome Bettis, the former Pittsburgh Steelers running back who is one of several NFL stars who have flown to London to promote the game. "The Bus" was given a warm reception by a knowledgeable group of about 100 fans, but said he's had to tweak his nickname this week to fit in.

"I'm a double-decker now," he said. This article was written by Mattias Karen and appeared in The Detroit Free Press.

Vikings not interested in proposal to give them the Metrodome - Ingles

2011-10-25T13:04:00.001-03:00

It's not a new concept, it's being dismissed by the Vikings, and it's coming at the 11th hour, but two lawmakers Friday proposed a plan they say will restore "fiscal sanity" to the debate over a new stadium: Give the Vikings the Metrodome in return for a 25-year contract to play in Minnesota.

"The Vikings could retrofit this facility in any way they see fit," said state Rep. Linda Runbeck, R-Circle Pines, chairwoman of the property and local tax subcommittee.

She pitched the plan at a Capitol news conference with state Sen. John Marty of Roseville, the ranking DFLer on the Senate Taxes Committee.

It wasn't the only Minneapolis stadium plan being promoted Friday. Landowners at the downtown Farmers' Market site said they're nearing agreement on land assembly as well.

The emergence of both proposals was a sign that Gov. Mark Dayton's deadline for plans by the end of next week is spurring some with stadium ideas to show their hands.

The Dome idea wouldn't require public money, its sponsors said, and it would allow taxpayers to recoup the value of the Metrodome site from property taxes paid by the team.

The Vikings would keep all revenue from events at the stadium and would pay the operating costs, estimated at $12 million per year.

But the team said the plan a "nonstarter."

"This isn't the first time the idea has been discussed, but even stadium opponents understand the facility no longer works for the team, our fans or the state," the Vikings said.

"These unrealistic ideas prevent serious discussion about the only viable stadium plan in Arden Hills."
Dayton said Wednesday that he hadn't heard the plan was being presented again.

But, he said, "at this point, I would say that's not going to really change the financial equation."

John Stiles, spokesman for Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, said the mayor is open to all ideas but hadn't seen the Dome proposal and couldn't comment. Rybak is scheduled to meet with Dayton on Monday.

Marty said he and Runbeck knew initial reaction to their idea would be negative but that people will come to see the deal is fair.

"People change their minds," Marty said. "Nonstarter? Last week, Christian Ponder was a nonstarter."

He said the offer to the Vikings is comparable to what they would get at either of the Los Angeles sites being talked about as potential locations for the team.

The Vikings are pursuing a $1.1 billion stadium on 430 acres in Arden Hills. It would be financed with $350 million from Ramsey County, $300 million from the state and at least $420 million from the team.

Marty said he opposes using public money for a stadium and would object to an idea being floated around the Capitol to use Legacy Amendment funds - from a statewide sales tax that voters approved in 2008.

Dayton has said he wants final stadium proposals in writing by the end of next week so he can prepare his own recommendations by Nov. 7, with a special session potentially to follow Nov. 21-23.

Marty questioned the need for the rush, particularly when he said public opinion is running strongly against using public money for a stadium and the $650 million-plus contribution in Minnesota "would be the largest taxpayer subsidy of any sports team in history, period."

Jeff Anderson, the Vikings' director of corporate communications, said he couldn't verify that claim.

It's "probably accurate" that it's the largest public contribution for an NFL stadium, he said, but the Vikings' owners also are putting up the third-largest private contribution for an NFL stadium.

Runbeck said she doesn't think the Arden Hills plan has enough support in the Legislature to be passed.

"I don't think anyone wants a special session, frankly, before Thanksgiving....We don't even know then what the deficit might be," she said. The next state economic forecast is expected in early December.

"We don't want to take up a stadium," Runbeck said. "I think I speak for 90 percent of the Legislature. We don't think this merits the kind of urgency that would put it on top of everything else. I mean, this is the entertainment industry.

"Why are we considering $650 million to help the entertainment industry? Please."

Meanwhile, Chuck Leer, a Minneapolis real estate developer who represents landowners of the 34-acre Farmers' Market site in Minneapolis, said, "We think we've got critical mass to make land assembly work."

Leer said he represents 10 owners who have 14 of the 21 parcels at the site near Target Field.

He doesn't have commitments from the owners of five parcels, but he said no one has opposed his efforts and expects he'd be able to get buy-in from everyone within a few months.

The Farmers' Market plan has been around for months, but the landowners are coming forward again because of the deadline announced by Dayton, Leer said.

"There's this urgency now," he said, and the landowners believe there needs to be a downtown site in the mix and that the Farmers' Market plan offers the greatest public benefit.

None of it makes any difference to the Vikings, however.

"There's one viable proposal; it's Arden Hills," team vice president Lester Bagley said Friday.This article was written by Doug Belden and appeared in the St. Paul Pioneer-Press.

FOOTBALL TOUR 2011 PASA AL 2012

2011-10-25T12:10:00.000-03:00

Debido al paro patronal de la NFL hemos decidido pasar el FOOTBALL TOUR para el 2012, muchos han sido los problemas para lograr sincronizar entre pasajes, hoteles, estadías y tickets para conseguir realizar un paquete acorde al nivel que pretendemos para organizarlo y para ofrecerles un buen nivel de servicios.
En el 2012 ya no tendremos paros de jugadores y NFL, así que estaremos viendo las fechas para el FOOTBALL TOUR 2012.
Pedimos disculpas y estarán sabiendo del tour aproximadamente en Abril del 2012.

Saludos
NMF

A new push for Vikings stadium in downtown Minneapolis - Ingles

2011-10-25T11:47:00.001-03:00

With decision time rapidly approaching for the Minnesota Vikings' Arden Hills stadium plan, a longtime Minneapolis developer says that the Farmers Market site near the Twins ballpark is more viable than ever as an alternative home for a new stadium.

Chuck Leer said that nine of 15 property owners in the Farmers Market area are interested in selling. The remaining owners are discussing sales prospects so that a 34-acre stadium site could be assembled between Interstate 94 and Target Field in the North Loop neighborhood.

"We're hoping that people will see again that this is an excellent site. With this back on the table, maybe we can figure out a way to make this happen," Leer said.

The goal is to consolidate a land sale and make the site an attractive option, said Leer, who is representing the owners in the matter. The site has been vigorously promoted since spring by investor Bruce Lambrecht and planner David Albersman, whose slide presentation has been seen by several business and political leaders.

Leer is being assisted by former Minneapolis City Council president Jackie Cherryhomes, who also represents the interests of some of the owners. "We have an opportunity to do something outstanding. Shame on us if we don't," she said.

The Vikings' vice president of stadium development, Lester Bagley, declined an invitation to meet with Leer and reiterated Friday that the team considers the Ramsey County proposal "the only viable plan on the table. ... We are 100 percent focused on the Arden Hills site."

The team and Ramsey County have agreed to build a $1.1 billion stadium on the 260-acre former Army ammunition plant site, a deal that would be the focus of a special legislative session that Gov. Mark Dayton plans before Thanksgiving.

"Minneapolis has been pretty clear that they're not going to harpoon Arden Hills, but if Arden Hills shouldn't work they'll have a proposal ready to go," said Ted Mondale, chair of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and City Council President Barbara Johnson will discuss stadium prospects Monday with Dayton, who has kept the door open to Minneapolis even while working with the Vikings on Arden Hills.

Rybak and Johnson prefer an $895 million stadium at the Metrodome, but in the last few weeks have said they're open to the Farmers Market site.

Johnson said that Leer is "trying to mitigate the potential downside of that site, which is multiple owners and unpredictability about the cost of acquiring all those folks. That's a positive step."

Leer said the Farmers Market site makes more sense than Arden Hills in terms of the amenities already there -- transit, parking, bars and restaurants. The Farmers Market, a popular draw, would be incorporated into the stadium complex. But the plan wouldn't touch Sharing and Caring Hands, the charity for the poor and homeless run by Mary Jo Copeland.

The interested owners hold 19 acres, Leer said. If you add 5.3 acres owned by Minneapolis and 2.7 acres of right-of-way, 27 of the 34 acres on the site are available, he said.

Leer is chairman of 2020 Partners, a downtown stakeholders group that recently called on the Vikings to build in Minneapolis. He said 2020 is not involved in his Farmers Market effort.

Scott Barriball, who owns the Farmers Market Annex across the street from the city market, said a new stadium on the site is "an exciting opportunity that ties this part of town together with the ballpark. ... If you have a vision of what a Vikings stadium would look like, with the Farmers Market and light rail, that's a real progressive big-city kind of thing."

The bipartisan legislative duo of liberal John Marty and conservative Linda Runbeck offered another Vikings stadium idea Friday, proposing to give the Metrodome to the team to do with it as it will -- play in it, renovate it or sell it and build a new one on another metro site.

The idea of turning over the Dome to the Vikings is not a new one, and team officials instantly called it "a nonstarter."

Marty, referring to the Vikings rookie just named the starting quarterback Sunday against Green Bay, quipped: "Last week, Christian Ponder was a nonstarter."

Under the proposal, the Vikings would get the Dome for free and sign a 25-year contract to run it. The stadium's assessed value is just under $42 million, but that money would be returned to the public in the form of annual taxes that the team would pay on the property.

The Vikings would replace the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission as the Dome's manager, assuming all operating costs but also keeping revenues from concessions and other non-NFL events.

Marty is a DFL state senator from Roseville and Runbeck is a Republican state representative from Circle Pines. Both represent constituents in Ramsey County, which under the Arden Hills plan would impose a half-percent sales tax on residents.

"Why should taxpayers be asked to support a duplicate [stadium]?" Runbeck said. "We want the Vikings to stay here, but a more modest proposal will be better all the way around." This article was written by Kevin Duchschere and appeared in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Former NFL'er and his suing game - Ingles

2011-10-05T11:08:00.002-03:00

Former Buffalo Bills great Joe DeLamielleure, who has ripped the NFL and the Players Association for neglecting needy retired players, alleges in a federal lawsuit filed last week that the league and its union have conspired to keep his officially licensed jersey out of the marketplace.
DeLamielleure, the Hall of Fame guard who was O.J. Simpson's lead blocker in the early 1970s, says in the suit filed in Manhattan on Thursday that the defendants are trying to keep him from collecting royalty payments resulting from the sale of his official jersey.

The suit, which seeks more than $75,000 in damages and legal fees, also names NFL licensee Reebok and Players, Inc., the union's licensing arm, as defendants.

Delamielleure, a six-time Pro Bowler, says in the lawsuit that Reebok sent him a contract to create a Bills jersey with his name on the back, but would manufacture the item only after he sent the company a "large up-front fee" for production.

"Other retired players who had much less noteworthy NFL careers did not have to pay Reebok a large up-front fee to have their jerseys produced and sold," the lawsuit alleges.

Delamielleure's attorney, Justin Parafinczuk, declined comment when asked if he thought the conspiracy alleged in the suit was sparked by his client's criticism of the NFL and its union.

Gene Upshaw, the former Players Association chief, threatened to break Delamielleure's neck after the retired Bills' star criticized the union for neglecting indigent retirees.

This article was written by Michael O'Keeffe and appeared in New York Daily News.

NFL blasts MLB playoff ratings - Ingles

2011-10-05T11:04:00.001-03:00

In case you're wondering, don't: NFL TV ratings tower over the MLB playoffs.

An example: Fox's NFL pregame show Sunday got a bigger overnight rating than any of TBS' MLB playoff games so far.

Even in cities with MLB playoff teams, NFL teams dominate. While the Green Bay Packers' one-sided win over the Denver Broncos drew 44.1% of Milwaukee households, the Brewers' playoff game against Arizona Sunday drew just 20.3%. And in Phoenix , that Sunday Diamondbacks-Brewers game drew 5.7% of households — while the Giants-Cardinals NFL game drew 21.5% of local households.

After being hit by bad luck with Tigers-Yankees being rained out Friday, a night when MLB faced little competition from football, TBS MLB playoff games are averaging 1.9% of U.S. households — down 27% from the first three days of last year's playoffs.

In the NFL, Fox's single-game NFL Sunday regionalized coverage, led by Detroit-Dallas, drew a 14.9 overnight — up 25% from last year's comparable action.

That overnight, translating to 14.9% of TV households in the 56 urban markets measured for overnights, topped weekend sports ratings. CBS drew a 13.8 overnight for regionalized coverage led by Broncos-Packers — down 14% from last year — while NBC's Jets-Ravens game got a 12.7 overnight — down 11% from a Bears-Giants game last year.

One rating point equals 1% of the USA 's 77 million overnight TV homes in Nielsen Media Research's 56 selected major markets. Cable rating converted to broadcast equivalent.

Sources: CBS, ESPN NBC, ABC, Nielsen Media Research
Event
Day, time (p.m. ET)
Rating (households)
Outlet

NFL main game: Detroit Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys
Sunday, 1
14.9 (11.5 million)
Fox

Comparison: Up 25% from comparable coverage last year.

Spin on the spin: Fox also lucks out because this year it has the Lions' Thanksgiving home game, which is alternated annually between Fox and CBS—and has a Lions team, playing the Packers that day, that should be a national attraction.

NFL main game: Denver Broncos vs. Green Bay Packers
Sunday, 4:15
13.6 (10.5 million)
CBS

Comparison: Down 15% from regional coverage last year featuring the Washington Redskins vs. the Philadelphia Eagles.

Spin on the spin: The Packers are a big TV draw, but the Broncos could not keep the game very close.

NFL: New York Jets vs. Baltimore Ravens
Sunday, 8:30
12.7 (9.8 million)
NBC

Comparison: Down 11% from a Chicago Bears-New York Giants game last year.

Spin on the spin: Down from last year, but it still won the night in prime-time TV.

College football: Alabama vs. Florida
Saturday, 8
4.7 (3.6 million)
CBS

Comparison: Down 8% from a game between the same teams last year.

Spin on the spin: A blowout 38-10 victory vs. the Gators was good for the Crimson Tide's national title chances but bad for the ratings.

Event
Day, time (p.m. ET)
Rating (households)
Outlet

NFL main game: Detroit Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys
Sunday, 1
14.9 (11.5 million)
Fox

Comparison: Up 25% from comparable coverage last year.

Spin on the spin: Fox also lucks out because this year it has the Lions' Thanksgiving home game, which is alternated annually between Fox and CBS—and has a Lions team, playing the Packers that day, that should be a national attraction.

NFL main game: Denver Broncos vs. Green Bay Packers
Sunday, 4:15
13.6 (10.5 million)
CBS

Comparison: Down 15% from regional coverage last year featuring the Washington Redskins vs. the Philadelphia Eagles.

Spin on the spin: The Packers are a big TV draw, but the Broncos could not keep the game very close.

NFL: New York Jets vs. Baltimore Ravens
Sunday, 8:30
12.7 (9.8 million)
NBC

Comparison: Down 11% from a Chicago Bears-New York Giants game last year.

Spin on the spin: Down from last year, but it still won the night in prime-time TV.

College football: Alabama vs. Florida
Saturday, 8
4.7 (3.6 million)
CBS

Comparison: Down 8% from a game between the same teams last year.

Spin on the spin: A blowout 38-10 victory vs. the Gators was good for the Crimson Tide's national title chances but bad for the ratings.

Event
Day, time (p.m. ET)
Rating (households)
Outlet

NFL main game: Detroit Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys
Sunday, 1
14.9 (11.5 million)
Fox

Comparison: Up 25% from comparable coverage last year.

Spin on the spin: Fox also lucks out because this year it has the Lions' Thanksgiving home game, which is alternated annually between Fox and CBS—and has a Lions team, playing the Packers that day, that should be a national attraction.

NFL main game: Denver Broncos vs. Green Bay Packers
Sunday, 4:15
13.6 (10.5 million)
CBS

Comparison: Down 15% from regional coverage last year featuring the Washington Redskins vs. the Philadelphia Eagles.

Spin on the spin: The Packers are a big TV draw, but the Broncos could not keep the game very close.

NFL: New York Jets vs. Baltimore Ravens
Sunday, 8:30
12.7 (9.8 million)
NBC

Comparison: Down 11% from a Chicago Bears-New York Giants game last year.

Spin on the spin: Down from last year, but it still won the night in prime-time TV.

College football: Alabama vs. Florida
Saturday, 8
4.7 (3.6 million)
CBS

Comparison: Down 8% from a game between the same teams last year.

Spin on the spin: A blowout 38-10 victory vs. the Gators was good for the Crimson Tide's national title chances but bad for the ratings.
Sources ( USA Today’s Michael Hiestand)

Stand and Deliver NFL ratings on NBC - Ingles

2011-10-05T11:00:00.002-03:00

Despite the 34-17 blowout that saw the Baltimore Ravens defeat the New York Jets, Sunday Night Football was the most-watched program on Sunday night for the fourth straight week and the No. 1 show of the week in the key advertising demographic of Adults 18-49, according to official national data released today by The Nielsen Company.

The game drew 18.9 million viewers, 10 percent lower than last year’s Week 4 game (Bears-Giants, 20.9 million), but up three percent from the 2009 Week 4 game (Chargers-Steelers, 18.4 million). Jets-Ravens marked the second most-watched Week 4 game in the six-year history of SNF.

The household rating for Jets-Ravens of 11.5/18 is down eight percent from last year’s Week 4 game (12.5/20) but up five percent from the 2009 Week 4 game (11.0/18).

The Adult 18-49 rating of 7.7 ranked Sunday Night Football as the No. 1 primetime program of the week in the key advertiser demographic.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL VIEWERSHIP FOR WEEK 4 GAMES:

2011 Jets-Ravens 18.9 million
2010 Bears-Giants 20.9 million
2009 Chargers-Steelers 18.4 million
2008 Eagles-Bears 17.3 million
2007 Eagles-Giants 15.0 million
2006 Seahawks-Bears 16.9 million

SNF STARTS STRONG: Through the first four weeks of the NFL season (four Sunday’s and one Thursday), Sunday Night Football is averaging 23.2 million viewers, the most through this point in the season in the six-year history of SNF.

The four-week average household rating of 13.9/22 is one percent higher than last year’s 13.7/23 and 10 percent ahead of 2009 (12.6/21) through the same point in the season.

· The critically acclaimed Football Night in America is averaging 9.5 million viewers and a household rating of 5.8/10 (7:30-8:15 p.m. ET) through the first four weeks, up 10 percent and nine percent, respectively, from last year’s first four weeks.

SNF IS NO. 1 SHOW OF SUNDAY NIGHT AGAIN: The Jets-Ravens broadcast was the No. 1 show of Sunday night in households, total viewers and all key adult and male demographics (excluding NFL overruns).

· Sunday Night Football powered NBC to a Sunday night primetime win, averaging 16.6 million viewers from 7:30-11 p.m., 19 percent ahead of second-place CBS (13.9 million), which benefited from an NFL overrun.

SNF 5-FOR-5: With 18.9 million viewers for Jets-Ravens, Sunday Night Football starts the season five-for-five versus its competition. This continues a trend for SNF dominating Sunday nights. Last season, “Sunday Night Football” was the No. 1 show all 18 nights (100 percent) vs. its competition (16 Sundays, one Tuesday and one Thursday).

2011 – 5 of 5 (Four Sundays, one Thursday – 100 percent)
2010 – 18 of 18 (16 Sundays, one Tuesday and one Thursday – 100 percent)
2009 - 15 of 16 Sundays (94 percent)
2008 - 13 of 16 Sundays (81 percent)
2007 - 11 of 16 Sundays (69 percent)
2006 - nine of 16 Sundays (56 percent)

TOP 10 METERED MARKETS FOR RAVENS-JETS:

1. Baltimore , 38.8/56
2. New Orleans , 18.8/26
3. Las Vegas , 18.3/29
4. Richmond , 18.2/28
5. San Diego , 16.9/29
T6. Washington D.C. , 15.9/26
T6. Indianapolis , 15.9/25
T6. Albuquerque , 15.9/23
9. Dayton , 15.8/23
10. Nashville , 15.7/23

* New York placed 11th among metered markets with a 15.4/24

Mercedes-Benz comes marching in (to the Superdome) - Ingles

2011-10-05T10:54:00.001-03:00

Tuesday, Governor Bobby Jindal joined Saints Owner Tom Benson and Ernst Leib, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA to announce a 10-year agreement reached between the NFL Saints and Mercedes-Benz USA to name the recently renovated Louisiana Superdome, the “Mercedes-Benz Superdome.”

Governor Jindal said, “This announcement today means we are gaining the partnership of a world-class company while generating savings for Louisiana taxpayers. This partnership agreement is estimated to significantly reduce or eliminate taxpayer funding currently spent to support the Saints. From a place of last refuge in Hurricane Katrina, to a facility where we recently invested $85 million for improvements to help attract corporate sponsorship from world-renown Mercedes-Benz USA, the Superdome is a symbol of our State’s success in not only rebuilding, but building back better than ever. Louisiana is making a comeback and the nation is taking notice.”

New Orleans Saints Owner Tom Benson said, “I am thrilled to be able to announce a winning and long-term partnership between the Saints and Mercedes-Benz. The Mercedes-Benz brand represents the very best in its industry and we believe that it is a perfect fit for this stadium, one of the world’s greatest sporting venues. We felt strongly it was essential that if we were to offer the name of our building to a company, it would be one that all of our fans and the state of Louisiana would be proud of. The investment being made by a premier international brand who believes in ‘the best or nothing,’ is a tremendous compliment to all of those who worked so hard to make the stadium what it is today.”

The new Mercedes-Benz Superdome name marks the first time the legendary New Orleans sports and exhibition stadium has been linked with a naming rights sponsor. The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, known internationally for its rich tradition of hosting some of the world’s largest sporting and entertainment events, including six Super Bowls, four NCAA Final Fours, three BCS National Championship games and numerous legendary Sugar Bowls, recently completed a six-year, $336 million renovation project that has positioned the stadium as a premier destination for major events for decades to come. The Mercedes-Benz Superdome is poised to add to its great legacy as host to the 2012 BCS National Championship Game, the 2012 NCAA Final Four and the 2013 Super Bowl.

Saints Owner/Executive Vice President Rita Benson LeBlanc said, “The entire Saints organization is excited to be forging this partnership between such iconic brands. We believe Mercedes-Benz, the New Orleans Saints and the Superdome are all the absolute best in our respective classes. The innovation, attention to detail and quality exemplified by Mercedes-Benz were also the guiding principles in the State’s renovation of our stadium. This agreement will allow us to build an even stronger legacy for the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and it illustrates that the brand of the Saints, New Orleans and Louisiana have never been stronger. We look forward to sharing the passion of our great fans, visitors and viewers from all over the world with Mercedes-Benz.”

President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA Ernst Lieb said, “The joining of the Mercedes-Benz brand with the world-class Saints organization and the Superdome, an iconic destination which has undergone an incredible transformation over the past six years, is a significant moment for us along with the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana. Our commitment over the next decade is to the Saints fans, team, and this famous community as it flourishes beyond anyone’s expectations.”

The New Orleans Saints were granted the right to market the naming rights of the Louisiana Superdome as part of their recent 15-year lease extension with the state of Louisiana, the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District (LSED) and SMG. The team put the search to secure naming rights on a fast track during the 2011 off-season and came together very quickly in the last two weeks. The Saints’ new naming rights agreement with Mercedes-Benz is expected to significantly reduce or eliminate state inducements to the Saints.

Madonna at the Super Bowl - Ingles

2011-10-05T10:47:00.002-03:00

Madonna will perform during the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on February 5, sources close to the event told SBNation.com on Monday. A spokesperson for the NFL declined to comment.

As you'd expect for an artist with her mass appeal, this isn't the first time Madonna's been approached about performing at the Super Bowl. In 1998, it was heavily rumored that Madonna would perform at Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami, only to have the plans fall apart before a deal could be reached. Likewise, Madonna was reportedly to headline the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXV, two years later, but but backed out at the last minute.
None of which is to say that she's a stranger to the Super Bowl spotlight. As recently as 2008, Madonna's music was used in a commercial for SunSilk hair products, for which the singer was paid $10 million, according to Rolling Stone. So where does Madonna fit in the lineage of Super Bowl halftime performers?

Let's take a look at the past 10 years.

2002 - U2
2003 - Shania Twain, No Doubt, Sting
2004 - Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake
2005 - Paul McCartney
2006 - The Rolling Stones
2007 - Prince
2008 - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
2009 - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
2010 - The Who
2011 - The Black Eyed Peas, Usher, and Slash
Now we can add Madonna to that list. For the moment, the biggest question is how much freedom she gets from the NFL. Madonna of the '80s and '90s would've been a pretty interesting experiment at the Super Bowl, as no female artist this side of Janet Jackson would've been more likely to push the envelope as far as costumes, themes, and stageplay is concerned.

After the debacle with Janet Jackson in 2004, old school Madonna would've been far too risky for the NFL. But today's Madonna is a mom more famous for charity than lack of chastity, and a natural fit for the NFL's biggest stage, especially considering the direction the NFL's taken in the years since 2004's controversy.

She may not match Prince, but she's better than Paul McCartney, and certainly an upgrade over 2011's apocalyptic amalgam of the Black Eyed Peas, a half-dead Slash, and Usher. So, if we can accept that the NFL's not going to give us any relevant new music (like, say, Jay-Z and Kanye West), then fans could certainly do worse than Madonna, right?

The Super Bowl and its halftime show will be televised live on NBC on February 5th, 2012. Stay tuned for further comments from Madonna and/or the NFL as the news emerges.

This article was written by Andrew Sharp and appeared in Sports Blogs Nation.

Packers apologize for security waits - Ingles

2011-10-05T10:45:00.001-03:00

Doug Collins, the Green Bay Packers' director of security, apologized Monday for the long lines fans had to endure to get into Lambeau Field on Sunday. He said the team and the Green Bay Police Department would study a range of options to get it right for the next home game.

"I apologize for the process we had," Collins said. "But we will learn from it."

On Sunday, thousands of fans were unable to get into the stadium in time for the 3:15 p.m. kickoff. This season, the National Football League ordered teams to enhance security. The Packers and police elected to use hand-held metal-detecting wands on fans entering the stadium instead of a full pat-down search.

Sunday's game marked the first time the wands were used. An inadequate number of security personnel, particularly at the time many fans tried to get in, and the fact the game was for Milwaukee season-seat holders who may have arrived late exacerbated the problem.

Team spokesman Aaron Popkey said all gates were clear with 9:30 left in the first quarter.

Popkey said officials stopped using the hand-held detectors at 2:45 p.m., one-half hour before kickoff. Instead, fans were patted down, Popkey said.

Collins said the Packers and police still were committed to using the wands this season. However, he said some security personnel might have taken more time than needed to "wand" each fan coming in. That will be reviewed, he said.

In addition, there may not have been enough security on hand when fans started to show up at the gates, he said. Security will be better deployed next time, he said.

Also, Collins said it was possible more staff will be added to move more people through the stadium gates.

"We will be looking for a marked improvement in efficiency," he said.

Collins said the Packers would continue to encourage fans to enter the stadium as early as possible. Stadium gates open two hours before kickoff. Fans should enter the stadium 15 to 30 minutes sooner than they normally do, he said.

This article was written by Don Walker and appeared in the Journal Sentinel.

Dolphins owner Steve Ross voices support for Tony Sparano - Ingles

2011-10-05T10:44:00.002-03:00

Miami Dolphins owner Steve Ross just appeared on South Florida radio Monday night and gave embattled coach Tony Sparano a vote of confidence.This article was written by Mike Berardino and appeared in The Sun Sentinel.

"I'm very disappointed, to put it mildly, I guess," Ross said during his appearance on The Finsiders, a team-run program on 940-AM. "Everybody involved with this team — the players, the coaches — are disappointed being 0-4. You can't be any other way.

"I think we have to stay together and really get behind our coach. I believe that Tony is the right coach. All the games we've played have been very close, could have gone either way. I think when you see the team practicing and playing as hard as they can, I think that's a good sign. Certainly we have to see better results."

Program host Jesse Agler asked Ross if he is confident the Dolphins can turn things around after their third 0-4 start in the past eight seasons.

"Certainly I'm hopeful," Ross said. "I think that everybody -- you read the press and everybody talks about changes and that would change things around. I really believe any football team, if you look at the winning teams, they're consistent and they stay the course. You go through rough periods.
"I think we have a lot of talent, but I think most importantly, the players really believe in Tony. As long as the players believe in Tony and they're playing hard for him, with the talent we have, we're going to win our share of ballgames. Certainly coming back from 0-4, hey, remember in the first season [2008] when Chad Pennington joined us, we started out, maybe not 0-4 but pretty similar and we rebounded and I think we won around nine or 10 straight games [actually nine of 10 after a 2-4 start]. I don't know if that's going to happen but I think we have a lot of talent. We'll find out about that as the season goes on."

Ross, who had not spoken publicly about the Dolphins or Sparano since two days before their Week 2 home loss to the Texans, said several times the team has "talent," which could be construed as support of the job General Manager Jeff Ireland has done.

Ross cast his vote for patience, which might not fire up the fan base but is significant because, well, his is the only vote that truly counts here.

"We're committed to winning," Ross said. "This organization is committed to winning. We'll [commit] whatever resources it takes to win. As long as the team is really behind its coach and it has talent, it has a good shot of winning. Like anything else, you have to be optimistic. I think you stay the course, we'll get there."

Ross ended his appearance with a message to Dolphins fans, who have grown increasingly frustrated with the direction of the franchise.

"I really appreciate your fan support," Ross said. "I feel as frustrated you do. When you hurt, I'm hurting. And I'm dedicated to making sure we turn this around as fast as possible."

Your thoughts on the owner's de facto State of the Dolphins address this evening?

This article was written by Mike Berardino and appeared in The Sun Sentinel.

N.F.L. Plans Broader Concussion Research - Ingles

2011-10-05T10:40:00.001-03:00

The N.F.L’s first attempt at a long-range study on the effects of concussions was riddled with problems from the manner in which data was collected to conflicts of interest for those overseeing it. After criticism from outside experts and even members of Congress, the study was shut down by the league in late 2009.
Nearly two years later, however, the N.F.L.’s committee on concussion research is planning a considerably broader study — an effort that could begin gathering data as soon as next season, according to one of the doctors involved.

The doctor, Mitchel S. Berger, the chairman of the neurological surgery department at the University of California San Francisco, said Monday that he and the N.F.L.’s subcommittee on former players and long-term effects of brain and spine injury had been holding conference calls regarding the study every two weeks with representatives from the players’ union. He added that he hoped to make a final presentation to the union and Commissioner Roger Goodell “in the near future.”

Berger said he was aware of the issues surrounding the previous study, and said the latest model was completely different.

“There was no science in that,” Berger said in reference to the study coordinated by Dr. Ira Casson, who was also the league’s primary voice in discrediting outside research on concussions. Asked if he might use any of the data from Casson’s work, Berger shook his head.

“We’re really moving on from that data,” he said. “There’s really nothing we can do with that data in terms of how it was collected and assessed.”

Berger said earlier studies failed to properly assess the effect of previous injuries on a subject. The new model, he said, is a “prospective longitudinal study,” which does not just evaluate a subject, but tracks it for an extended period.

Specifically, Berger said, the study will include about 1,400 people, aged 45 to 59, and divided into three groups. The first group will be retired N.F.L. players; the second will be people who played college football but never professionally; and the third will be a control group of nonathletes who have some medical commonalities with the first two (a heightened prevalence of diabetes, for example).

What tests will be conducted is still being determined, but Berger said the workups would be comprehensive. A baseline test for each subject will be performed, and subsequent examinations will be given every three years. A similar study, with three groups featuring the same characteristics but for people aged 60 to 75, will also be conducted, involving about 400 subjects, Berger said.

“Because the prevalence of serious problems in that younger age group is less common and obvious,” he said, “you have to look at so many more individuals.”

Berger explained the study at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center here, where moments earlier, Goodell had spoken at the 2011 Congress of Neurological Surgeons. In his remarks, Goodell seemed to summarize the increasing focus the N.F.L. has had on head, neck and spine injuries in recent years.

When Casson was doing his study, its point was to find out if there was a link between repeated football head trauma and degenerative cognitive function. With a consensus having formed that the link does exist, it appears that the goal now is to find out how strong it is, whom it affects most and what preventative steps can be taken by the league to minimize potential damage to its players.

“There is nothing more important to the N.F.L. than the safety of our players, and there is no issue of greater importance when it comes to player safety than the effective prevention, diagnosis and treatment of concussions,” Goodell told the convention crowd.

He added: “The more we can learn about the brain, the better for all. And we can be the leaders.”

Robert E. Harbaugh, the chairman of neurosurgery at Penn State, said his subcommittee for the development and management of a prospective database for N.F.L. players was pursuing a more thorough examination of active players in hopes of identifying potential genetic conditions that might make a player predisposed to cognitive issues later in life. Goodell also spoke about the effects of current rule changes designed to increase player safety, and the possibility of other changes.

Goodell would not rule out instituting rules regarding the three-point stance, which linemen use on nearly every play before launching themselves, often headfirst, into opposing players. “We’re going to consider everything,” he told reporters. This article was written by Sam Borden and appeared in The New York Times.

The 2014 Frozen Super Bowl - Ingles

2011-09-28T18:46:00.001-03:00

Roger Goodell noticed the snowflake in icy blue-and-white, centered before the George Washington Bridge , during the debut of the host committee's logo for the 2014 Super Bowl.

"I think that's great," the NFL commissioner said Tuesday. "A little snow would be great for us. But whatever comes our way, we're going to be prepared for it."

The game at MetLife Stadium will be the first outdoor Super Bowl in a cold-weather venue. Although the lowest Super Bowl kickoff temperature has been 39 degrees, average February temperatures at East Rutherford, N.J., are 24 to 40 degrees.

"It's football like it was meant to be played - in the open, exposed to whatever winter throws our way," the new print advertising campaign for the game states.

Goodell is hoping for light snow and maintained the organizers will be prepared for foul weather.

"We're coming and playing in the winter, and I think that would be great," he said. "Some of our most memorable games were played in unusual weather circumstances. Winter and cold are part of football, and snow is also."

Given the venue, it figures to be a unique Super Bowl. The logo and advertising were unveiled at an 8 a.m. "power breakfast" news conference at The Modern, a restaurant in the Museum of Modern Art .

The print campaign starting Wednesday and a broadcast advertisement that debuts Sunday are brash, with a deep voice proclaiming: "A game so important, an event so monumental, a Super Bowl so historic it takes two states to host it." The campaign and logos were designed by Source Communications in New Jersey .

Both New Jersey and New York are featured. The TV ad includes the Statue of Liberty with shoulder pads, and yard lines on a field on the GW Bridge. The logo has an "NY" and "NJ" flanking the flake at the span's base.

"We thought it would be both fun and direct to put the snowflake right into our major symbol," said Al Kelly, the former American Express president hired in April as chief executive officer of the host committee.

The NFL said an additional game logo will be released in the year before the event.

Kelly said fans should expect ticket prices above the $600 and $1,200 charged for this year's game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington , Texas .

"I expect our ticket prices will probably be the most expensive ticket prices of any Super Bowl that's been held," he said, "but I think that's a decision that sits with the NFL, and it's a decision that hasn't been made yet."

NFL owners awarded the game to the $1.6 billion venue in May 2010, just as the stadium was opening.

Kelly said 22 businesses had signed up as sponsors and will pay a minimum $1 million each. Among the co-chairs representing the sponsors are Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs & Co.; Janet Robinson of The New York Times; Massimo d'Amore of PepsiCo Beverages Americas; Gerald Hassell of BNY Mellon; Robert Kapito of BlackRock; and Michael Kowalski of Tiffany & Co.

"The world will be waiting for us to probably screw up on this because this is the first cold-weather Super Bowl," New York Jets owner Woody Johnson said. "It was very courageous of our commissioner, Roger Goodell and our fellow owners to vote yes on this - albeit on the fourth or fifth ballot."

On other subjects, Goodell said management still is pushing to start testing for human growth hormone. NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith has said his members question the safety and reliability of the blood test.

"It's our intention to do it as soon as possible," Goodell said. "We're waiting to hear back from the union."

Goodell wouldn't state an opinion on whether Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick should have continued playing last weekend despite an injured hand.

"I think that's for the doctors. Doctors make those decisions," he said.

Goodell also said the NFL would not consider a Super Bowl outside the United States for now, such as London 's Wembley, preferring to concentrate on the stadiums of teams in the league.

Having reached a labor agreement with players during the summer that ended a four-month lockout, Goodell said he hasn't given any recommendations to NBA Commissioner David Stern, in the midst of his own lockout.

"I talked to David yesterday. I don't give him any advice," Goodell said. "He's the dean. He gives us advice." (source New York Post)

NUMEROS DE LA SEMANA 2 DE LA NFL

2011-09-15T11:42:00.007-03:00

¡ES BUENO ESTAR DE REGRESO!
El football americano de la NFL regresó en gran forma en la Semana 1, con marcas e hitos siendo logrados en casi cualquier momento. Marcas de NFL para una sola semana en mayor cantidad total de yardas aéreas (7,842), pasadores de 300 yardas (14) y anotaciones mediante retornos de patadas combinados (ocho) fueron establecidos esta semana, para nombrar sólo algunas.

QUE NO CUNDA EL PÁNICO.
Al final de la Semana 2, no más de 12 equipos serán capaces de clamar una marca perfecta de 2-0, dejando al menos a 20 clubes en 1-1 o 0-2.

Desde el realineación en 2002, 62 de los 108 equipos clasificados a la postemporada (57.4 por ciento) comenzaron el año con registro de 1-1 o 0-2.

Un vistazo a cómo los clubes que alcanzaron la postemporada en 2009 y 2010 comenzaron sus campañas:

HOGAR DULCE HOGAR.
Tanto New England como Pittsburgh regresan a casa en la Semana 2 tras haber arrancado la temporada 2011 fuera de casa. Los Patriots, que recibirán a San Diego, tienen marca de 60-12 (.833) en el Gillette Stadium desde que fue inaugurado en 2002, el mejor porcentaje ganador de cualquier equipo en un estadio desde 1970 (mínimo de 25 juegos). Los Patriots ganaron 14 de los últimos 16 arranques en casa, incluyendo una marca perfecta de 9-0 marca en el Gillette.

Pittsburgh está 58-21-1 (.731) en el Heinz Field desde su apertura en 2001, lo que lo ubica cuarto desde 1970. Los Steelers, que recibirán a Seattle el domingo, ganaron ocho aperturas en casa consecutivas, la segunda racha activa más larga en la liga (New England, nueve).

Los equipos con los porcentajes ganadores más altos en un estadio desde 1970 (mínimo de 25 juegos):

EQUIPO - ESTADIO - G-P-E - PORCENTAJE DE TRIUNFOS

New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium
60-12-0
.833

Miami Dolphins
Orange Bowl
101-22-1
.819

Minnesota Vikings
Metropolitan Stadium
64-23-1
.733

Pittsburgh Steelers
Heinz Field
58-21-1
.731

L.A. Rams
LA Memorial Coliseum
53-20-2
.726

Nota: Marcas anteriores a 1972 no cuentan en el porcentaje de triunfos.

LA NFL CELEBRA EL MES DE LA HERENCIA HISPANA
La NFL, la Fundación de la Herencia Hispana (HHF, por su siglas en inglés de Hispanic Heritage Foundation) y Bud Light se asociaron para lanzar los “Premios del liderazgo de la Herencia Hispana de la NFL presentados por Bud Light” durante la celebración 2011 del Mes de la Herencia Hispana (Hispanic Heritage Month), en el período septiembre 15-octubre 15. Los premios reconocen la contribución de líderes hispanos en cada mercado de la NFL.

Cada premio será entregado en el estadio en un juego de la Herencia Hispana en su mercado local. Esta semana, siete clubes –Broncos, Lions, Dolphins, Patriots, Giants, Jets y Redskins– harán sus entregas honoríficas.

Con el apoyo de Bud Light, cada homenajeado elegirá una organización de su preferencia que sirva en la comunidad hispana local para recibir una donación de 2,000 dólares.

LOS PATRIOTS PROCURAN EXTENDER SU RACHA.
Los New England Patriots ganaron nueve juegos consecutivos de temporada regular, retrotrayéndose a la campaña pasada, la racha más larga activa en la NFL.

Con una victoria el domingo contra San Diego, BILL BELICHICK se convertiría en el segundo entrenador en jefe en la historia de la NFL con tres rachas ganadoras separadas de 10 juegos, sumándose al miembro del Salón de la Fama DON SHULA.

Los Patriots de Belichick ganaron 21 juegos consecutivos en el período 2006-08 y 18 juegos consecutivos en el lapso 2003-04.

Shula encabezó a los Baltimore Colts a 11 victorias seguidas en 1964 y registró dos rachas ganadoras de 10 juegos con los Miami Dolphins (16 en 1971-73; 10 en 1973; 16 en 1983-84).

GONZO ASCIENDE.
El ala cerrada de los Atlanta Falcons TONY GONZÁLEZ necesita cinco recepciones contra los Philadelphia Eagles el domingo en la noche para superar al receptor TERRELL OWENS en el quinto lugar en la lista histórica.

En 15 temporadas, González ostenta 1,074 recepciones, la mayor cantidad por un ala cerrada en la historia de la NFL.

Los jugadores con la mayor cantidad de recepciones en la historia de la NFL:

JUGADOR - RECEPCIONES
Jerry Rice, 1,549
Marvin Harrison, 1,102
Cris Carter, 1,101
Tim Brown, 1,094
Terrell Owens, 1,078
Tony González, 1,074*
* Activo

FABULOSO EN SUS 50.
El mariscal de campo de Baltimore JOE FLACCO realizará la 50ª titularidad de su carrera para los Ravens este domingo contra Tennessee. Con una victoria contra los Titans, Flacco (33 victorias) empataría a PHILIP RIVERS (34) en la cuarta mayor cantidad de victorias de cualquier mariscal de campo activo a lo largo de sus primeras 50 titularidades.

El de Atlanta MATT RYAN (33 victorias en 47 titularidades en su carrera), está también empatado con Flacco. Realizará su 50º inicio en la Semana 4, contra Seattle.

Los mariscales de campo activos en la NFL con la mayor cantidad de victorias en sus primeras 50 titularidades:

MARISCAL DE CAMPO - TRIUNFOS
Tom Brady, 38
Ben Roethlisberger, 36
Tony Romo, 35
Philip Rivers, 34
Donovan McNabb, 31
Michael Vick, 31
Joe Flacco *, 33
Matt Ryan **, 33
* 49 titularidades; ** 47 titularidades

¡OTRA, OTRA!
En la victoria de New England 38-24 sobre Miami el lunes en la noche, el mariscal de campo de los Patriots TOM BRADY lanzó 517 yardas, la quinta mayor cantidad en un juego en la historia de la NFL.

Brady es uno de 11 mariscales de campo en lanzar 500 yardas. De esos 11, DREW BREES lanzó la mayor cantidad de yardas (349) en el juego siguiente a su desempeño de 500 yardas. Brady necesita 350 yardas aéreas contra San Diego en la Semana 2 para superar la marca de Brees.

Los mariscales de campo que lanzaron 500 yardas en un solo juego y cómo les fue la semana siguiente:

MOMENTUM: NFL ROARS BACK! - Ingles

2011-09-15T09:11:00.005-03:00

RECORD 107.4 MILLION FANS TUNE IN
ON KICKOFF WEEKEND

Kickoff Weekend Games 3 Most-Watched Sporting Events
Since Super Bowl XLV

Cowboys-Jets on NBC Most-Watched Sunday Night Football Game Ever

NFL Games Top Ratings in All 30 NFL Markets

NFL.com & Digital Media Properties Post Opening Weekend Records

Beginning with the Thursday night NFL season opener, viewers across the country got back to football and tuned into NFL games and visited NFL digital media properties in record numbers.

A record 107.4 million fans tuned into Kickoff Weekend games (Sept. 8-12) on CBS, ESPN, FOX and NBC to rank as the most-viewed opening weekend ever.

Three Kickoff Weekend games topped 25 million average viewers -- NBC Thursday night opener (Saints-Packers, 27.2 million), FOX national game telecast (mostly Giants-Redskins, 25.8 million) and the NBC Sunday night game (Cowboys-Jets, 25.8 million) – to rank as the three most-watched sporting events since Super Bowl XLV. These three telecasts rank among the seven most-watched shows among all television programs since Super Bowl Sunday including awards shows, such as the Academy Awards, and season finales

In addition, Kickoff Weekend games averaged 19.0 million viewers – which coupled with last year’s average of 19.5 million marks the first time in a quarter century that NFL opening-weekend games averaged at least 19 million viewers in consecutive seasons (1986-1987).

Below are some additional records and highlights from Kickoff Weekend.

NATIONAL
· NBC’s Sunday Night Football opener is the most-watched SNF game ever (Cowboys-Jets, 25.8 million viewers). NBC’s two games averaged 26.5 million viewers, marking the highest Thursday-Sunday primetime average for NBC since the current Kickoff Weekend schedule was implemented in 2002. With Cowboys-Jets marking the first meeting in five years between starting quarterbacks of Hispanic heritage, NBC drew an SNF record 2.74 million Hispanic viewers.

LOCAL
· NFL games ranked first in all 30 NFL markets for the third consecutive Kickoff Weekend. NFL games also topped the ratings in 53 of Nielsen’s 56 metered markets -- up from 48 of 56 metered markets in 2010.
· Three teams delivered record-setting ratings for season-openers in their home markets led by the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay Packers (53.1 rating) followed by New England (33.9) and the New York Jets (19.7).
· Five clubs (Denver, Green Bay, Miami, N.Y. Jets, and Oakland) posted local ratings increases of more than 20 percent for Week 1.

DIGITAL
· NFL digital media properties, including NFL Mobile only from Verizon, had its best opening weekend ever with 46 percent more people visiting than last year.
· On Sunday, fans watched 75 percent more video compared to Kickoff Sunday in 2010.
· Fans spent 48 percent more time on NFL digital media properties than last year.
· Visits to the expanded array of NFL mobile offerings were up nearly 500 percent from 2010.

Following is the list of all 30 NFL markets where football was the top-rated program for the week of Sept. 5 - 11:

Source: NFL & The Nielsen Company

PACKERS QB AARON RODGERS, BEARS LB BRIAN URLACHER & 49ERS KR-PR TED GINN JR. NAMED NFC PLAYERS OF WEEK 1 - Ingles

2011-09-15T09:05:00.002-03:00

Quarterback AARON RODGERS of the Green Bay Packers, linebacker BRIAN URLACHER of the Chicago Bears and kick returner-punt returner TED GINN JR. of the San Francisco 49ers are the NFC Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week for games played on Kickoff Weekend 2011 (September 8, 11-12), the NFL announced today.

OFFENSE: QB AARON RODGERS, GREEN BAY PACKERS
Rodgers completed 27 of 35 passes (77.1 percent) for 312 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 132.1 passer rating in the Packers’ 42-34 win over New Orleans.
In the first quarter, Rodgers completed 14 of 15 passes (93.3 percent) for 188 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 158.3 passer rating – the highest mark attainable.
He became just the second player in NFL history to throw three touchdown passes in the first quarter of a season opener (JACK KEMP, Buffalo, September 13, 1964).
Rodgers led the Packers to 42 points, the second-most in a season opener in franchise history, trailing only the 53 points scored in 1919 against Menominee North End A.C.
In his seventh season from California, this is Rodgers’ third career Player of the Week Award. He was honored twice last season (Weeks 13 and 16).
Rodgers and BRETT FAVRE (12) are the only quarterbacks in team history to win the award at least three times.

DEFENSE: LB BRIAN URLACHER, CHICAGO BEARS
Urlacher had a 12-yard fumble-return touchdown, an interception and a team-high 10 tackles in the Bears’ 30-12 win over Atlanta.
His interception was the 19th of his career and he surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer BILL GEORGE for the third most by a linebacker in team history. Urlacher has now recorded an interception in nine of his 12 seasons.
Urlacher’s touchdown was the fourth of his career and his first since December 23, 2007 (85-yard interception-return touchdown vs. Green Bay).
He led a defense that did not allow an offensive touchdown in Week 1, the only team in the NFL to do so.
In his 12th year from New Mexico, this is Urlacher’s sixth career Player of the Week Award and first since Week 8, 2004.
Urlacher’s six Defensive Player of the Week Awards are tied for the most in franchise history with Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end RICHARD DENT.

SPECIAL TEAMS: KR-PR TED GINN JR., SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
In the 49ers’ 33-17 win over Seattle, Ginn became the 12th player in NFL history – and the first on Kickoff Weekend – to return a kickoff (102 yards) and a punt (55 yards) for a touchdown in a game. He accomplished the feat just 59 seconds apart, the fastest of the 12 players to do so.
Ginn finished with a franchise-record 268 total yards (176 kickoff, 92 punt).
His returns marked the first time in team history that the 49ers had a kickoff-return touchdown and punt-return touchdown in the same game.
· In his fifth season from Ohio State, this is Ginn’s second career Player of the Week Award (Week 8, 2009 with Miami).
· Ginn is the first 49ers returner to be honored since 2003 (CEDRICK WILSON, Week 9).

2011 NFC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK 1

Offense
QB Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay

Defense
LB Brian Urlacher, Chicago

Special Teams
KR-PR Ted Ginn Jr., San Francisco

Other nominees for NFC Offensive Player of Week 1:
· Chicago running back MATT FORTÉ, who had 158 scrimmage yards (90 receiving, 68 rushing) and a touchdown.
· Washington quarterback REX GROSSMAN, who completed 21 of 34 passes (61.8 percent) for 305 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 110.5 passer rating in the Redskins’ 28-14 win over the New York Giants.
· Arizona quarterback KEVIN KOLB, who completed 18 of 27 passes (66.7 percent) for 309 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 130.0 passer rating in the Cardinals’ 28-21 win over Carolina.
· Philadelphia running back LE SEAN MC COY, who rushed for 122 yards and scored two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving) in the Eagles’ 31-13 win at St. Louis.
· Carolina rookie quarterback CAM NEWTON, who passed for 422 yards, the most by a player in his NFL debut.
· Carolina wide receiver STEVE SMITH, who had eight catches for 178 yards and two touchdowns.
· Detroit quarterback MATTHEW STAFFORD, who completed 24 of 33 passes (72.7 percent) for 305 yards with three touchdowns and one interception for a 118.9 passer rating in the Lions’ 27-20 win at Tampa Bay.

Other nominees for NFC Defensive Player of Week 1:
· Philadelphia defensive end JASON BABIN, who had two sacks.
· San Francisco linebacker PARYS HARALSON, who had four tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles.
· Washington rookie linebacker RYAN KERRIGAN, who had a nine-yard interception-return touchdown and five tackles.
· Dallas linebacker SEAN LEE, who had 15 tackles and a 37-yard interception return in the Cowboys’ 27-24 loss at the New York Jets.
· Philadelphia defensive end JUQUA PARKER, who had a 56-yard fumble-return touchdown.
· New York Giants defensive end JASON PIERRE-PAUL, who had six tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.
· Washington rookie defensive tackle CHRIS NEILD, who had four tackles and two sacks.
· Tampa Bay cornerback AQIB TALIB, who had a 28-yard interception-return touchdown, four tackles and three passes defensed in the Buccaneers’ 27-20 loss to Detroit.
· Green Bay linebacker ERIK WALDEN, who had six tackles and a sack.
· Minnesota cornerback ANTOINE WINFIELD, who had 10 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble in the Vikings’ 24-17 loss at San Diego.

Other nominees for NFC Special Teams Player of Week 1:
· Green Bay rookie kick returner-wide receiver RANDALL COBB, who tied an NFL record with a 108-yard kickoff-return touchdown. Cobb added a 32-yard touchdown reception, becoming just the second rookie in NFL history with a kick-return touchdown and touchdown catch in his first game.
· Minnesota kick returner PERCY HARVIN, who had a 103-yard kick-return touchdown.
· Arizona rookie punt returner PATRICK PETERSON, who had an 89-yard punt-return touchdown.

PATRIOTS QB TOM BRADY, RAVENS LB TERRELL SUGGS & RAIDERS K SEBASTIAN JANIKOWSKI NAMED AFC PLAYERS OF WEEK 1 - Ingles

2011-09-15T08:57:00.002-03:00

Quarterback TOM BRADY of the New England Patriots, linebacker TERRELL SUGGS of the Baltimore Ravens and kicker SEBASTIAN JANIKOWSKI of the Oakland Raiders are the AFC Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week for games played on NFL Kickoff 2011 Weekend (September 8, 11-12), the NFL announced today.

OFFENSE: QB TOM BRADY, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Brady completed 32 of 48 passes (66.7 percent) for a franchise-record 517 passing yards with four touchdowns and a 121.6 passer rating in a 38-24 win over the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football.
· Brady became the 11th quarterback in NFL history to pass for 500 yards. His 517 passing yards are the fifth-highest in league history.
Registered his 35th game with at least 300 passing yards, which ranks third among active NFL quarterbacks (PEYTON MANNING, 63; DREW BREES, 45).
In the fourth quarter, Brady connected with wide receiver WES WELKER for the 12th 99-yard touchdown pass in NFL history.
Brady (35,261) became the 18th quarterback ever to reach 35,000 career passing yards.
In his 12th season from Michigan, Brady earned Player of the Week honors for the 18th time, tying Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (18) for the second-most Player of the Week awards of any player since the accolade was instituted in 1984 (PEYTON MANNING, 21).

DEFENSE: LB TERRELL SUGGS, BALTIMORE RAVENS
· Suggs tied career-highs with three sacks and two forced fumbles in the Ravens’ 35-7 win against the Steelers on Kickoff Weekend.
· Suggs, who now has 71.5 career sacks, surpassed PETER BOULWARE (70.0) for the most sacks in franchise history.
· Helped Ravens register a franchise-record seven takeaways (four fumble recoveries, three interceptions).
· In the first quarter, Suggs sacked Steelers quarterback BEN ROETHLISBERGER, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Baltimore defensive tackle HALOTI NGATA on Pittsburgh’s 37-yard line.
· In the fourth quarter, Suggs stripped Roethlisberger at the Steelers’ nine-yard line, leading to a recovery by Ravens defensive end CORY REDDING.
· Suggs’ three sacks were an NFL-best in Week 1.
· In his ninth year from Arizona State, this is Suggs’ third career Defensive Player of the Week Award. He most recently won the award in 2008 (Week 7).

SPECIAL TEAMS: K SEBASTIAN JANIKOWSKI, OAKLAND RAIDERS
· Center stage on Monday Night Football, Janikowski connected on a 63-yard field goal, tying the record for the longest field goal in NFL history, in a 23-20 win at Denver.
· He joined kickers TOM DEMPSEY and JASON ELAM in accomplishing the feat.
· Became the first player in NFL history with two 60-yard field goals (61-yard field goal on December 27, 2009).
· Janikowski’s three field goals (37, 21, 63) tied for an AFC-best in Week 1.
· In his 12th season from Florida State, this is Janikowski’s fourth career Special Teams Player of the Week Award. He most recently won the award in 2008 (Week 7).

2011 AFC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK 1

Offense
QB Tom Brady, New England

Defense
LB Terrell Suggs, Baltimore

Special Teams
K Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland

Other nominees for AFC Offensive Player of Week 1:
· Cincinnati running back CEDRIC BENSON, who gained 121 yards on 25 attempts (4.8 average) with one touchdown in a 27-17 win over Cleveland.
· Tennessee wide receiver KENNY BRITT, who had five receptions for 136 receiving yards (27.2 average) with two touchdowns in a 16-14 loss to Jacksonville.
· Buffalo quarterback RYAN FITZPATRICK, who completed 17 of 25 passes (68.0 percentage) for 208 yards with four touchdowns versus zero interceptions and a 133.0 passer rating in a 41-7 win at Kansas City.
· Baltimore quarterback JOE FLACCO, who completed 17 of 29 passes (58.6 percent) for 224 yards with three touchdowns versus zero interceptions and a 117.6 passer rating.
· Oakland running back DARREN MC FADDEN, who gained 150 rushing yards on 22 attempts (6.8 average).
· New York Jets quarterback MARK SANCHEZ, who completed 26 of 44 passes (59.1 percent) for 335 yards with two touchdowns versus one interception and 88.7 passer rating in a 27-24 win over Dallas.
· San Diego running back MIKE TOLBERT, who had three touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing) in a 24-17 win against Minnesota.
· Indianapolis wide receiver REGGIE WAYNE, who had seven receptions for 106 yards (15.1 average) with one touchdown.
· New England wide receiver WES WELKER, who totaled eight receptions for 160 receiving yards (20.0 average), including a record-tying 99-yard touchdown catch. Welker also tied a career-high with two touchdown receptions.

Other nominees for AFC Defensive Player of Week 1:
· New England safety PATRICK CHUNG, who had nine tackles and one sack.
· Cleveland cornerback JOE HADEN, who had three tackles and a career-high five passes defensed in a 27-17 loss to Cincinnati.
· Baltimore safety ED REED, who registered six tackles and two interceptions.
· New York Jets cornerback DARRELLE REVIS, who recorded six tackles and an interception.

Other nominees for AFC Special Teams Player of Week 1:
Denver punt returner-wide receiver ERIC DECKER, who registered a 90-yard punt return-touchdown in a 23-20 loss to Oakland.
· Houston punt returner-wide receiver JACOBY JONES, who had a 79-yard punt return-touchdown in a 34-7 win against Indianapolis.
· Baltimore punter SAM KOCH, who punted five times for 236 yards (47.2 average). Koch also rushed for a successful two-point conversion attempt.
· New York Jets running back JOE MC KNIGHT, who blocked a punt, that was recovered by Jets cornerback ISAIAH TRUFANT for an 18-yard touchdown return.
· San Diego punter MIKE SCIFRES, who was successful on a 40-yard field goal after replacing injured kicker NATE KAEDING.
· Jacksonville kicker JOSH SCOBEE, who connected on all three field goals (48, 21, 45) in a 16-14 win over Tennessee.

LUNES EN LA NOCHE – 19 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2011

2011-09-14T18:43:00.002-03:00

ST. LOUIS RAMS (0-1) EN NEW YORK GIANTS (0-1)

LÍDER DE LA SERIE
RAMS
GIANTS 25-13

RACHAS
RAMS
GIANTS Ultimos 4

EEJ CONTRA OPONENTE
RAMS Spagnuolo: 0-0
GIANTS Coughlin: 2-1

SEMANA PASADA
RAMS Perdió 31-13 contra los Eagles
GIANTS Perdió 28-14 de visita a los Redskins

ÚLTIMO JUEGO
14/09/08: Giants 41 en Rams 13.
El mariscal de New York Eli Manning completa 20 de 29 pases intentados para 260 yardas y tres anotaciones al tiempo que los Giants definen el juego con 21 puntos en el último período.

ÚLTIMO JUEGO EN LA SEDE
02/10/05: Giants 44, Rams 24.
Manning lanza 296 yardas y cuatro anotaciones para que los Giants derroten a St. Louis. El receptor Plaxico Burress registra 10 recepciones para 204 yardas y dos anotaciones.

TRANSMISIÓN
ESPN Deportes en los EEUU, ESPN en América Latina a las 8:30 PM, hora de New York: Álvaro Martín (relator), Raúl Allegre (analista), John Sutcliffe (periodista desde el terreno).

ESTADÍSTICAS

PASANDO
RAMS Bradford: 17-30-188-0-0-75.4
GIANTS Manning: 18-32-268-0-1-70.8

ACARREANDO
RAMS C. Williams: 19-91-4.8-0
GIANTS Bradshaw: 13-44-3.4-1 (1ºE en NFL)

RECIBIENDO
RAMS C. Williams (corredor): 5-49-9.8-0
GIANTS Nicks: 7-122 (2º en NFC)-17.4-0

OFENSIVA
RAMS 335.0
GIANTS 315.0

INTERCAMBIO DE ERRORES
RAMS 0
GIANTS 0

DEFENSIVA
RAMS 403.0
GIANTS 332.0

CAPTURAS
RAMS Tres empatados: 1
GIANTS Pierre-Paul: 2 (1ºE en NFC)

INTERCEPCIONES
RAMS 0
GIANTS 0

DESPEJES
RAMS Jones: 42.3
GIANTS Weatherford: 45.2

PATADAS DE UBICACIÓN
RAMS Jo. Brown: 7 (1/1 en puntos extra; 2/3 en goles de campo)
GIANTS Tynes: 2 (2/2 en puntos extra; 0/1 en goles de campo)

NOTAS

RAMS
El entrenador en jefe STEVE SPAGNUOLO fue coordinador defensivo de los Giants (2007-08), incluyendo al equipo campeón del Super Bowl XLII. EL MARISCAL DE CAMPO SAM BRADFORD necesita 300 yardas (3,700) para alcanzar 4,000 en su carrera. EL CORREDOR STEVEN JACKSON tuvo una anotación terrestre de 47 yardas la semana pasada en su primer acarreo de la temporada. Desde 2006, promedia 117.3 yardas desde la línea de golpeo por juego (8,446 yardas, 72 juegos), la mayor cantidad en la NFL (mínimo de 50 juegos). Tiene 414 yardas desde la línea de golpeo (138 por juego; 317 por tierra, 97 recibiendo) y cuatro anotaciones (tres terrestres, una recibiendo) en los últimos tres juegos de Lunes en la noche (MNF, por la siglas en inglés de Monday Night Football). Busca su 4º juego de Lunes en la noche en línea con un acarreo anotador.

EL CORREDOR CADILLAC WILLIAMS tuvo 91 yardas por tierra en su primer juego con St. Louis. También la semana pasada igualó el liderazgo del equipo con cinco recepciones para 49 yardas. EL RECEPTOR BRANDON GIBSON tuvo 50 yardas recibiendo la semana pasada (tres recepciones, 16.7 de promedio), la mejor producción del equipo.

EL ALA DEFENSIVA JAMES HALL tiene una captura y un balón suelto forzado en dos de los últimos tres encuentros. EL ALA DEFENSIVA CHRIS LONG tuvo una captura en el único juego contra los Giants. EL PROFUNDO QUINTIN MIKELL tuvo una intercepción en el último juego contra los Giants (19/12/10 con Philadelphia). Tuvo una captura y forzó un balón suelto en la Semana 1.

GIANTS
En su carrera, EL MARISCAL DE CAMPO ELI MANNING está 2-0 contra St. Louis, completando 39 de 64 (60.9 por ciento) para 556 yardas con siete anotaciones contra ninguna intercepción y un índice de 125.5. Busca su 4º triunfo consecutivo en Lunes en la noche. En el único encuentro, EL CORREDOR AHMAD BRADSHAW tuvo un acarreo anotador de 31 yardas y una recepción anotadora de 18 yardas. En sus tres juegos de Lunes en la noche, acarreó 290 yardas (96.7 por juego) y tres anotaciones. EL CORREDOR BRANDON JACOBS busca su tercer juego en línea en Lunes en la noche con un acarreo anotador. Tuvo 116 yardas por tierra en el último duelo de Lunes en la noche.

EL RECEPTOR HAKEEM NICKS tuvo siete recepciones para 122 yardas (17.4 de promedio) la semana pasada. En los últimos dos juegos de Lunes en la noche, tiene 16 recepciones para 204 yardas (102 por juego) y dos anotaciones. EL RECEPTOR MARIO MANNINGHAM tiene una anotación de 25+ yardas en dos de los últimos tres en Lunes en la noche. Tiene 14 anotaciones en su carrera y 12 han sido de 20+ yardas. Promedia 36.4 yardas por recepción anotadora en su carrera (510 yardas).

EL ALA DEFENSIVA JUSTIN TUCK tuvo dos capturas y un retorno de intercepción anotador de 41 yardas en el último encuentro contra St. Louis. EL ALA DEFENSIVA JASON PIERRE-PAUL tuvo un pico de carrera con dos capturas la semana pasada. También forzó un balón suelto en la primera semana.

DOMINGO EN LA NOCHE, 18 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2011

2011-09-14T18:13:00.002-03:00

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (1-0) EN ATLANTA FALCONS (0-1)

LÍDER DE LA SERIE
EAGLES 15-10-1
FALCONS

RACHAS
Ultimos cuatro y seis de los últimos siete en total

EEJ CONTRA OPONENTE
EAGLES Reid: 8-1
FALCONS Smith: 0-3

SEMANA PASADA
EAGLES Ganó 31-13 de visita a los Rams
FALCONS Perdió 30-12 de visita a los Bears

ÚLTIMO JUEGO
17/10/10: Falcons 17 en Eagles 31.
El receptor de Philadelphia DeSean Jackson anota dos veces en el primer período (acarreo de 31 yardas, recepción de 34 yardas) para que los Eagles disfruten de una tempranera ventaja 14-0 hacia una victoria.

ÚLTIMO JUEGO EN LA SEDE
06/12/09: Eagles 34, Falcons 7.
La defensiva de Philadelphia mantiene a Atlanta en cero hasta la última jugada del pleito. El mariscal de los Eagles Michael Vick se acredita dos anotaciones (acarreo de 5 yardas, pase de 5 yardas).

TRANSMISIÓN
NBC en los EEUU en español a través del segundo canal de audio (SAP) a partir de las 8:00 PM, hora de New York: René Giraldo (relator), Edgar López (analista); ESPN en América Latina a las 8:00 PM, hora de New York: Eduardo Varela (relator), Roberto Abramowitz (analista).

ESTADÍSTICAS

PASANDO
EAGLES Vick: 14-32-187-2-0-83.7
FALCONS Ryan: 31-47-319-0-1-76.5

ACARREANDO
EAGLES McCoy: 15-122 (1º en NFC)-8.1-1 (1ºE en NFL)
FALCONS Turner: 10-100 (2º en NFC)-10.0-0

RECIBIENDO
EAGLES D. Jackson: 6-102-17.0-1 (3ºE en NFC)
FALCONS White: 8 (1ºE en NFC)-61-7.6-0

OFENSIVA
EAGLES 403.0
FALCONS 386.0

INTERCAMBIO DE ERRORES
EAGLES 0
FALCONS -2

DEFENSIVA
EAGLES 335.0
FALCONS 377.0

CAPTURAS
EAGLES Babin: 2 (1ºE en NFC)
FALCONS Abraham: 2 (1ºE en NFC)

INTERCEPCIONES
EAGLES
FALCONS Bierman: 1 (1ºE en NFC)

DESPEJES
EAGLES Chas Henry: 36.3
FALCONS Bosher (novato): 38.4

PATADAS DE UBICACIÓN
EAGLES Henery: 7 (4/4 en puntos extra; 1/1 en goles de campo)
FALCONS Bryant: 6 (0/0 en puntos extra; 2/2 en goles de campo)

NOTAS

EAGLES
EL MARISCAL DE CAMPO MICHAEL VICK fue la selección Nº 1 de Atlanta en 2001. Jugó seis temporadas (2001-06) y fue seleccionado a tres Pro Bowls con los Falcons. Tuvo un pase anotador y una anotación terrestre en el único juego contra Atlanta. La semana pasada lanzó 187 yardas y dos anotaciones y acarreó 97 yardas.

EL CORREDOR LE SEAN MC COY acarreó 391 yardas (130.3 por juego) y cuatro anotaciones en los últimos tres juegos en estadios cerrados. Tuvo 122 yardas por tierra, y anotó por esa vía (49 yardas) y también recibiendo (7 yardas) la semana pasada. Desde el inicio de 2010, encabeza a los corredores de la NFL con 80 recepciones.

En el último encuentro, EL RECEPTOR-DEVOLVEDOR DE DESPEJES DE SEAN JACKSON tuvo un acarreo anotador de 31 yardas y una recepción anotadora de 34 yardas. Tiene 27 anotaciones (20 recibiendo, cuatro devolviendo despejes, tres acarreando) en su carrera y promedia 45.7 yardas por anotación (1,234 yardas). EL RECEPTOR JEREMY MACLIN tuvo siete recepciones para 159 yardas, un pico de carrera, y dos anotaciones (83 y 8 yardas) en el último encuentro. La anotación de 83 yardas es la más larga de su carrera.

EL ESQUINERO ASANTE SAMUEL tiene una intercepción en dos de los últimos tres encuentros. Ostenta 36 intercepciones desde 2006, la mayor cantidad en la NFL. EL ALA DEFENSIVA TRENT COLE tuvo dos capturas y un forzó un balón suelto en el último juego contra Atlanta. EL ALA DEFENSIVA JUQUA PARKER tuvo un retorno anotador de balón suelto recuperado de 56 yardas la semana pasada, la 2ª anotación de su carrera (retorno anotador de intercepción de 55 yardas).

FALCONS
EL MARISCAL DE CAMPO MATT RYAN está 20-2 (.909) en su carrera en casa con 32 anotaciones contra 12 intercepciones. En su carrera, registró un índice de 100+ 16 veces y los Falcons están 16-0. EL CORREDOR MICHAEL TURNER acarreó 2,048 yardas (97.5 por juego) y 24 anotaciones en los 21 juegos en casa desde haberse unido Atlanta en 2008. Sus 24 acarreos anotadores en casa significan la mayor cantidad en la NFL en ese lapso.

En los últimos cuatro encuentros, EL RECEPTOR RODDY WHITE tiene 27 recepciones para 390 yardas (97.5 por juego) y tres anotaciones. Desde el arranque de 2007, tiene 379 recepciones, la segunda mayor cantidad en la NFC. EL ALA CERRADA TONY GONZALEZ tuvo dos anotaciones en el último encuentro. Tiene 15 juegos en su carrera con 2+ anotaciones. EL RECEPTOR JULIO JONES, un novato, tuvo cinco recepciones para 71 yardas en su debut en la NFL.

EL ALA DEFENSIVA JOHN ABRAHAM tiene seis capturas en los últimos seis juegos en casa. Tuvo dos capturas la semana pasada. Tiene 104.5 capturas en su carrera, 2ª mayor cantidad en la NFL entre los jugadores activos. EL ALA DEFENSIVA KROY BIERMANN tuvo un retorno de intercepción anotador de 50 yardas la semana pasada, la 2ª anotación de su carrera (devolución de intercepción de 31 yardas).

TRAS UN HISTÓRICO FIN DE SEMANA DE APERTURA, AQUÍ LLEGA LA SEGUNDA SEMANA

2011-09-14T16:39:00.008-03:00

La NFL tuvo su “Vuelta al Football Americano” en gran forma, ya que el Fin de Semana de Apertura tuvo juego emocionante y desempeños para los libros de marcas. Entre los destacados de la primera semana:

Los 752 puntos anotados igualaron la novena mayor cantidad en una sola semana en la historia de la NFL y fue la segunda mayor cantidad en la historia en un Fin de Semana de Apertura.
Se anotaron 89 touchdowns, igualando la sexta mayor cantidad en una sola semana en la historia de la NFL y empatando la mayor cantidad en la historia en el Fin de Semana de Apertura (2002).
Los equipos de la NFL se combinaron para lanzar 7,842 yardas aéreas netas, el total más alto en cualquier semana en la historia de la NFL.

Hubieron cinco juegos en los que cada equipo tuvo un jugador que lanzó al menos 300 yardas, la mayor cantidad en ese tipo de juegos en una semana en la historia de la NFL.
Catorce mariscales de campo lanzaron al menos 300 yardas, la mayor cantidad en una sola semana en la historia de la NFL.
Hubieron ocho anotaciones mediante retorno de patadas combinadas (cinco de despeje, tres patadas iniciales), la mayor cantidad de anotaciones mediante retorno de patadas combinadas en una sola semana en la historia de la NFL.
Las tres anotaciones mediante retorno de patada inicial están igualadas en la mayor cantidad en un fin de semana de apertura en la historia de la NFL (1970, 1998).

Hubieron tres anotaciones mediante retorno de patada inicial de al menos 100 yardas –el de Green Bay RANDALL COBB (108 yardas, igualando una marca de NFL), el de Minnesota PERCY HARVIN (103) y el de San Francisco TED GINN JR. (102). Marcó apenas la segunda semana en la historia de la NFL con tres anotaciones mediante retorno de patada inicial de 100+ yardas (Semana 5, 1958).

El de San Francisco Ginn se convirtió en el 12º jugador en la historia de la NFL –y el primero en el Fin de Semana de Apertura– en devolver una patada inicial (102 yardas) y un despeje (55 yardas) para anotación en un solo juego. Ginn logró tal hazaña con apenas 59 segundos entre una y otra jugada, el más rápido de los 12 jugadores en hacerlo.
El mariscal de campo novato de Carolina CAM NEWTON tuvo 422 yardas aéreas, la mayor cantidad en la historia por un jugador en su debut en la NFL. La marca previa fue de 346 yardas por el miembro del Salón de la Fama OTTO GRAHAM en 1950. Las 422 yardas de Newton están igualadas en la mayor cantidad en un solo juego por un novato (MATTHEW STAFFORD, 22 de noviembre de 2009).

El receptor novato de Cincinnati A.J. GREEN se hizo de una recepción anotadora de 41 yardas que definió el pleito en el último período en el triunfo de los Bengals 27-17 sobre Cleveland. Fue la recepción anotadora de último período para definir un juego más larga en la historia de la NFL lograda por un novato en el primer partido de su equipo (22 yardas, COBB ROONEY, de los Duluth Kelleys, en 1924).

La apertura del jueves en la noche entre Green Bay (AARON RODGERS: 312 yardas, tres anotaciones) y New Orleans (DREW BREES: 419 yardas, tres anotaciones) fue la primera vez en la historia de la NFL que mariscales de campo enfrentados lanzaron ambos al menos 300 yardas y tres anotaciones sin intercepción alguna en las aperturas de temporada de sus equipos.
El duelo del lunes en la noche entre New England (TOM BRADY, 517) y Miami (CHAD HENNE, 416) fue el primer juego en la historia de la NFL con un pasador con 500 yardas y otro de 400. Las 906 yardas aéreas netas entre los dos equipos fue la mayor cantidad en un juego en la historia de la NFL.

¿Qué nos deparará esta semana? Aquí, un vistazo a unas cuantas historias breves al ingresar en la Semana 2:

CHICAGO BEARS (1-0) en NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (0-1)
(Domingo, FOX, 1:00 PM, hora de New York)

Los campeones defensores de la NFC Norte Chicago Bears buscan su segundo triunfo consecutivo sobre un equipo que alcanzó la postemporada en 2010, cuando viajen a New Orleans para enfrentarse a los Saints. En la primera semana, los Bears derrotaron a los Atlanta Falcons 30-12.

El mariscal de campo de Chicago JAY CUTLER lanzó 312 yardas en la apertura, su segunda titularidad en Fin de Semana de Apertura con al menos 300 yardas aéreas (372 yardas en 2010). Cutler es el único mariscal de campo de los Bears en lanzar al menos 300 yardas en el Fin de Semana de Apertura. El corredor de Chicago MATT FORTÉ agregó 158 yardas desde la línea de golpeo (90 recibiendo, 68 acarreando), incluyendo una recepción anotadora de 56 yardas.

Defensivamente, los Bears fueron encabezados por el apoyador BRIAN URLACHER, que tuvo una anotación mediante retorno de balón suelto recuperado de 12 yardas y una intercepción.

“Estamos empezando 1-0”, se alegra Urlacher. “Tenemos maneras de proseguir. Simplemente debemos seguir avanzando.”

Para seguir sobre ruedas, la defensiva de Chicago tratará detener a la ofensiva de New Orleans encabezada por el mariscal de campo DREW BREES, que lanzó 419 yardas y tres pases anotadores en el Fin de Semana de Apertura. El corredor DARREN SPROLES tuvo un debut dinámico por los Saints, al registrar 250 yardas totales (92 con devolución de despejes, 76 con retornos de patadas iniciales, 75 recibiendo, siete acarreando), incluyendo una anotación de 72 yardas mediante retorno de despeje.

“Cuando tiene un juego de casi 500 yardas (477) de ofensiva total contra uno de los mejores equipos en la liga fuera de casa”, expone Brees, “debes sentirte bien acerca de la dirección hacia la que estás yendo.”

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (1-0) en NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (1-0)
(Domingo, CBS, 4:15 PM, hora de New York)

El mariscal de campo de New England TOM BRADY lanzó 517 yardas, una marca de franquia y la quinta mejor producción en un solo juego en la historia de la NFL, y cuatro anotaciones en el triunfo de los Patriots 38-24 en la primera semana en Miami. New England produjo 622 yardas totales, el total más alto en un solo juego en la historia del equipo.

Entre las cuatro anotaciones de Brady estuvo un lanzamiento de 99 yardas al receptor WES WELKER, igualando la recepción anotadora más larga en la historia de la liga.

“Lo lancé sólo 25 yardas”, explica Brady. “Wes hizo todo el trabajo.”

Los Patriots se enfrentarán a una ofensiva fuerte esta semana, cuando los San Diego Chargers visiten el Gillette Stadium, estadio donde New England tiene marca perfecta de 9-0 en los primeros partidos de temporada en casa.

San Diego derrotó a los Minnesota Vikings 24-17 en el Fin de Semana de Apertura, en parte gracias al corredor MIKE TOLBERT, que anotó tres veces. Tolbert se convirtió en apenas el tercer miembro de los Chargers en registrar dos recepciones anotadoras y un acarreo anotador en el mismo juego (GARY W. ANDERSON, 19 de octubre de 1986; KEITH LINCOLN, 7 de noviembre de 1965).

“Supongo que estaba en el lugar correcto en el momento justo”, baja los decibeles Tolbert. “Algunas de esas jugadas fueron llamadas para mí, pero tuve un juego decente y siempre puedo hacerlo mejor.”

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (1-0) en ATLANTA FALCONS (0-1)
(Domingo, NBC, 8:20 PM, hora de New York)

El mariscal de campo de Philadelphia MICHAEL VICK regresa a Atlanta, donde los Eagles enfrentarán a los Falcons el domingo en la noche. Vick fue la selección Nº 1 total de Atlanta en 2001 y jugó seis temporadas (2001-06) para los Falcons, acreditándose tres viajes al Pro Bowl durante ese lapso.

La semana pasada, Vick (187 yardas aéreas, dos anotaciones) encabezó a Philadelphia a una victoria 31-13 en St. Louis. Vick (97 yardas, 11 intentos) y el corredor LE SEAN MC COY (122 yardas, 15 intentos) encabezaron un juego terrestre que totalizó 236 yardas. Vick (8.8 de promedio) y McCoy (8.1) se convirtieron en la primera pareja de mariscal-corredor compañeros de equipo en la historia de la NFL en cada uno promediar al menos 8.0 yardas por acarreo en el mismo juego (mínimo de 10 acarreos cada uno).

“Encontramos las maneras de realizar jugadas”, explica Vick acerca del desempeño del equipo. “Lo más importante es que terminamos con el triunfo en el bolsillo. Lo hicimos realmente bien. Hay aún algunas cosas en las que debemos trabajar. Pero supimos cómo hacerlo.”

Los Falcons intentarán regresar de una derrota en el Fin de Semana de Apertura en Chicago y regresar a casa, donde el mariscal de campo MATT RYAN está 20-2 (.909) en su carrera.

“Estamos decepcionados con nuestro arranque”, se queja el entrenador en jefe de Atlanta MIKE SMITH. “Este es el inicio de la temporada de la NFL y no lo hicimos muy bien, pero lo sabemos. Será una temporada larga y corregiremos lo que haga falta.”

ST. LOUIS RAMS (0-1) en NEW YORK GIANTS (0-1)
(Lunes, ESPN, 8:30 PM, hora de New York)

Dos equipos con aspiraciones de llegar a la postemporada buscarán regresar tras haber arrancado la temporada con sendas derrotas. Bajo los focos del lunes en la noche estarán dos mariscales de campo seleccionados Nº 1 total, el de los Rams SAM BRADFORD (2010) y el de los Giants ELI MANNING (2004).

Bradford, que se espera que jugará a pesar de un magullón en el dedo índice derecho, viene de una destacada temporada como novato. El Novato ofensivo del año 2010 de AP llevó a St. Louis a siete victorias y estableció marcas de novato en la NFL con 590 intentos y 354 pases completos, mientras que se ubicó segundo en la historia entre novatos con 3,512 yardas.

Manning titularizó 104 juegos consecutivos como mariscal de campo –la racha actual más larga en la NFL en la posición– y es el único mariscal de campo en la historia de la franquicia con temporadas consecutivas de 4,000 yardas (2009-10). Está 2-0 en su carrera contra los Rams con siete anotaciones, ninguna intercepción y un índice de pasador de 125.5.

“Tenemos que alistarnos para jugar contra un gran equipo de los New York Giants”, acepta el entrenador en jefe de los Rams STEVE SPAGNUOLO, que estuvo dos años como coordinador defensivo de los Giants (2007-08), incluyendo la temporada en la que el equipo llegó y ganó el Super Bowl XLII.

LA NFL, LA HISPANIC HERITAGE FOUNDATION Y BUD LIGHT LANZAN LOS PREMIOS NFL HISPANIC HERITAGE LEADERSHIP AWARDS

2011-09-14T16:30:00.003-03:00

Presentado por Bud Light, 32 líderes hispanos serán reconocidos durante el mes de la herencia hispana en cada ciudad con un equipo de la NFL

La NFL y la Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF por sus siglas en inglés – Fundación de la herencia hispana) se unen para inaugurar el premio NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Awards presentados por Bud Light (Premios NFL a líderes de la herencia hispana presentados por Bud Light) durante la celebración del mes de la herencia hispana en el 2011. Los premios reconocen las contribuciones de líderes hispanos en cada área metropolitana que cuente con un equipo de la NFL.

Cada galardonado será reconocido en el estadio donde fue seleccionado durante un partido que se celebre en el mes de la herencia hispana.

Lillian Rodríguez López, presidente del Hispanic Federation, quien fue seleccionado por los New York Giants, será reconocida por la NFL y la HHF durante la vigésima quinta entrega de los prestigiosos premios Hispanic Heritage Awards (premios a la herencia hispana nacionales) en el Kennedy Center en Washington, D.C. el 15 de septiembre. Los premios Hispanic Heritage Awards honran a hispanos notables quienes se distinguen en varios campos e impactan a los Estados Unidos y al planeta. Los premios se consideran el máximo honor entre los hispanos para hispanos en los Estados Unidos y dan comienzo a las iniciativas anuales de liderato de la HHF. En el 2011, los premios Hispanic Heritage Awards celebran su 25 aniversario, el mismo aniversario que celebra el mes de la herencia hispana en los Estados Unidos. Bud Light es la cerveza oficial de los Hispanic Heritage Awards.

Con el apoyo de Bud Light, cada ganador del premio seleccionará a una organización que ofrezca servicios a la comunidad hispana local para que reciba un donativo de $2,000. Bud Light ha apoyado la comunidad hispana por décadas, contribuyendo más de $64 millones a organizaciones hispanas desde 1982.

“Junto a la Hispanic Heritage Foundation y a Bud Light, nos enorgullece reconocer un líder en cada una de las ciudades donde residen nuestros equipos de NFL durante el mes de la herencia hispana”, destaca Peter O’Reilly, vicepresidente de estrategia al aficionado y mercadeo de la NFL. “Nos entusiasma honrar individuos que inspiran a sus comunidades locales hispanas, así como darles una oportunidad de apoyar a una organización que ellos y ellas aprecien con un donativo”.

“Estamos muy entusiasmados de asociarnos con la NFL y con Bud Light para honrar a líderes hispanos quienes tienen un impacto notable en comunidades en todos los Estados Unidos”, declaró José Antonio Tijerino, Presidente y Primer ejecutivo de la HHF. “Es importante resaltar su liderazgo no sólo en las regiones del país con población hispana establecida, sino también en las áreas en que esta comunidad se afianza y crece. La NFL y Bud Light se aseguran que, más allá del reconocimiento, habrá una inversión en las comunidades a través de sus donativos. No hay una manera mejor de celebrar el Mes de la herencia hispana que hacer mella positivamente en la comunidad hispana”.

“Bud Light reconoce de esta manera a 32 líderes sobresalientes en cada una de las comunidades con equipos de NFL con este premio”, recalcó Margarita Flores, Vicepresidenta de asuntos comunitarios de Anheuser-Busch. “Aplaudimos a los ganadores por su esfuerzo y por contribuir a mejorar sus comunidades”.

La NFL celebrará el mes de la herencia hispana durante la tercera semana de la temporada 2011. El enfoque nacional de la celebración de la NFL será durante sus clásicos del domingo y lunes por la noche (Sunday Night Football y Monday Night Football). Los Pittsburgh Steelers enfrentan a los Indianapolis Colts el domingo, 25 de septiembre y los Washington Redskins enfrentan a los Dallas Cowboys el lunes, 26 de septiembre.

Los ganadores del premio NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Awards son los siguientes:

EQUIPO
GALARDONADO

Arizona Cardinals
Anthony Robles: campeón universitario de lucha libre en la NCAA de Arizona State University; nació con una sola pierna.

Atlanta Falcons
Rudy Beserra: Vicepresidente de asuntos hispanos, Coca Cola Company.

Baltimore Ravens
Luis Borunda: Fundador y Presidente, USHYEE.

Buffalo Bills
Ralph Hernández: Presidente y representante del West District de la Junta de educación de Buffalo.

Carolina Panthers
Andrea Bazán: una de las máximas activistas de causas hispanas en North Carolina.

Chicago Bears
Juan Rangel: Primer ejecutivo de United Neighborhood Organization.

Cincinnati Bengals
Fernando Aguirre: Director y Primer ejecutivo de Chiquita Brands International.

Cleveland Browns
Stephanie Mercado: Director ejecutivo del Northeast Ohio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Dallas Cowboys
Adelfa Callejo: Socio en el bufete Callejo and Callejo. Primera hispana en graduarse de la escuela de leyes Dedman School of Law en Southern Methodist University.

Denver Broncos
Mario Carrera: un reconocido ejecutivo de ventas en medios prestigiosos de comunicación (televisión, radio y entidades en Internet).

Detroit Lions
Harvey Santana: Miembro de la Cámara de representantes de Michigan, representando el Décimo distrito en Detroit.

Green Bay Packers
Ricardo Díaz: Director ejecutivo del United Community Center.

Houston Texans
Benny Agosto: Socio del bufete Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Friend. Presidente del Hispanic National Bar Association.

Indianapolis Colts
Henry L. Fernández: Director ejecutivo de USA Funds.

Jacksonville Jaguars
Doctora Edith A. Pérez: Subdirectora del Mayo Clinic Cancer Center.

Kansas City Chiefs
Cici Rojas: Vicepresidente de compromiso con la comunidad del Truman Medical Center.

Miami Dolphins
Doctor Pedro José Greer: Fundador del Camillus Health Concern. Decano asistente de asuntos académicos en la escuela de medicina de Florida International University.

Minnesota Vikings
Ramón León: Presidente fundador y Primer ejecutivo de Latino Economic Development Center.

New England Patriots
Alejandra St. Guillén: Director ejecutivo de ¿Oiste? The Latino Civic Education Initiative.

New Orleans Saints
Anna Frachou: Interim Director ejecutivo interino de Puentes New Orleans.

New York Giants
Lillian Rodríguez López: Presidente de la Hispanic Federation.

New York Jets
Ricardo Fernández: Presidente de Lehman College.

Oakland Raiders
Michael Torres: Socio principal, Primer ejecutivo y director de carteras en Adelante Capital Management.

Philadelphia Eagles
Angel Cruz: Miembro de la Cámara de representantes de Pennsylvania, representando al Distrito 180 en Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh Steelers
Victor Diaz: Presidente de Videotek Construction y Primer ejecutivo del Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

St. Louis Rams
Coronel Jaime Torres, U.S. Air Force

San Diego Chargers
Rubén Barrales: Presidente y Primer ejecutivo de la Cámara de comercio regional de San Diego.

San Francisco 49ers
Oscar y Marco García: Cofundadores de Mesa de la Comunidad.

Seattle Seahawks
Roberto Maestas: Cofundador de El Centro de La Raza, fungiendo como su director por 36 años.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Francisco J. Sánchez: Subsecretario a cargo de comercio internacional en el Departamento del Comercio de los Estados Unidos.

Tennessee Titans
Renata Soto: Cofundador y Director ejecutivo de Conexión Américas.

Washington Redskins
Guillermo Enrique López: Director de patrocinios y eventos al consumidor de Verizon.

Coach Morris broke the rules - Ingles

2011-09-13T09:41:00.000-03:00

Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris admitted he broke league rules by contacting players during the NFL lockout.

Morris acknowledged on Monday speaking to Bucs tight end Kellen Winslow and cornerback Aqib Talib despite knowing he was prohibited from having any contact with players during the recent lockout.

"I called Kellen to say congratulations on the new baby," Morris said. "I haven't heard any reports. I heard the rumors about the fine and all that type of stuff, but I haven't gotten anything from anybody."

Morris talked with Aqib after he was arrested in Texas in March, Morris said. Talib is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, accused by police of firing shots at his sister's boyfriend and trying to hit him with a handgun.

"I called Aqib when he got to jail," Morris said. "I called Kellen when he had a baby."

Morris likely will be fined by the NFL if it determines he illegally contacted players. This article was written by Anwar S. Richardson and appeared in The Tampa Tribune.

NUMEROS DE LA SEMANA DE APERTURA DE LA NFL

2011-09-09T15:44:00.002-03:00

SEMANA 1

SUPER ARRANQUES.
La historia indica que la mejor manera de que un equipo inicie su marcha hacia un posible campeonato de Super Bowl es ganando en la Semana 1.

Los 45 ganadores del Super Bowl tienen una marca de 37-7-1 en los juegos del Fin de Semana de Apertura de sus campañas de campeonato.

Desde 1978, cuando la NFL adoptó el calendario de 16 juegos, y excluyendo la temporada abreviada de 1982, los equipos que resultaron victoriosos en el Fin de Semana de Apertura tienen más del doble de oportunidades de alcanzar la postemporada que los perdedores de esos juegos iniciales:

· De los 474 equipos que ganaron en sus aperturas…251 alcanzaron la postemporada.

· De los 474 equipos que perdieron en sus aperturas…111 alcanzaron la postemporada.

VUELVE EL FOOTBALL AMERICANO

GANADORES TEMPRANEROS.
La temporada 2011 arranca el jueves en la noche cuando los campeones del Super Bowl XLV, los GREEN BAY PACKERS, reciban a los ganadores del Super Bowl XLIV, los NEW ORLEANS SAINTS. La última vez que los dos últimos campeones del Super Bowl se encontraron en el Fin de Semana de Apertura fue en 2000, cuando los St. Louis Rams (campeones del Super Bowl XXXIV) derrotaron a los Denver Broncos (campeones del Super Bowl XXXIII).

Los Packers ganaron 51 juegos en un Fin de Semana de Apertura, igualando a los CHICAGO BEARS en mayor cantidad de triunfos en la historia en un Fin de Semana de Apertura. Chicago recibirá a los Atlanta Falcons el domingo.

Los equipos con la mayor cantidad de victoria en Fin de Semana de Apertura:

EQUIPO - VICTORIAS EN EL ARRANQUE

Chicago, 51
Green Bay, 51
New York Giants, 49
Detroit, 42
Pittsburgh, 40

STEELERS EN RACHA.
Los Pittsburgh Steelers ganaron ocho juegos consecutivos en un Fin de Semana de Apertura, la racha actual más larga en la NFL.

Con una victoria el domingo en Baltimore, Pittsburgh puede igualar a los Chicago Bears (1984-1992) en la cuarta mayor cantidad de triunfos consecutivos en la historia en Fin de Semana de Apertura.

La mayor cantidad de juegos ganados consecutivamente en la historia en arranques de temporada:

EQUIPO - AÑOS - RACHA

Dallas Cowboys, 1965-1981, 17
Miami Dolphins, 1992-2002, 11
Detroit Lions/ Portsmouth Spartans, 1930-1939, 10
Chicago Bears, 1984-1992, 9
Pittsburgh Steelers, 2003-presente, 8*

* Racha activa

TITULAR VELOZ.
El corredor de los Minnesota Vikings ADRIAN PETERSON acarreó 1,552 yardas en 14 los juegos de su carrera en septiembre. El corredor de quinto año promedia 110.9 yardas por tierra por juego en el mes, lo que marca el promedio más alto de tardas terrestres por juego en septiembre en la historia de la NFL (mínimo de 10 juegos).

El corredor de los Tennessee Titans CHRIS JOHNSON se ubica tercero en la lista con 98.9 yardas acarreadas por juego en septiembre.

Las mayores cantidades de yardas acarreadas por juego en una carrera en septiembre en la historia de la NFL (mínimo de 10 juegos):

JUGADOR - PROMEDIO DE YARDAS TERRESTRES POR JUEGO

Adrian Peterson*, 110.9
Jim Brown, 110.8
Chris Johnson*, 98.9
Barry Sanders, 97.0
Terrell Davis, 94.0

*Activo

BUSCANDO 70.
El mariscal de campo de los Pittsburgh Steelers BEN ROETHLISBERGER ostenta registro de 69-29 (.704) en su carrera como titular. Roethlisberger buscará la 70ª victoria contra los Baltimore Ravens en el Fin de Semana de Apertura. Con un triunfo, Roethlisberger registrará su 70º en la cuarta menor cantidad de titularidades (99) entre los mariscales de campo que comenzaron sus carreras en la era del Super Bowl.

Las menores cantidades de titularidades para alcanzar las 70 victorias en una carrera entre mariscales de campo que comenzaron sus carreras en la era del Super Bowl:

JUGADOR - TITULARIDADES PARA GANAR 70

Roger Staubach, 94
Tom Brady, 94
Ken Stabler, 98
Joe Montana, 102
Terry Bradshaw, 102

CENTRO DE ESCENA.
El entrenador en jefe de los Tennessee Titans MIKE MUNCHAK realizará su debut como entrenador en jefe el domingo. El ex lindero ofensivo es el 12º jugador miembro del Salón de la Fama en convertirse en entrenador en jefe desde 1970. Con un triunfo en Jacksonville, Munchak se convertiría en apenas el cuarto jugador ya exaltado en el Salón de la Fama desde 1970 en ganar su primer juego como entrenador en jefe.

Los jugadores miembros del Salón de la Fama que ganaron su primer juego como entrenador en jefe desde 1970:

ENTRENADOR EN JEFE - EQUIPO - AÑO

Raymond Berry, New England Patriots, 1984
Art Shell, Los Angeles Raiders, 1989
Larry Wilson, St. Louis Cardinals, 1979

BIENVENIDO DE REGRESO.
Seleccionado en primera vuelta (Nº 26 total) por los Chicago Bears en 1987, el entrenador en jefe de los San Francisco 49ers JIM HARBAUGH realizará su debut como entrenador en jefe de la NFL contra los Seattle Seahawks el domingo.

El ex mariscal de campo lanzó 26,288 yardas y 129 pases anotadores durante su carrera de 15 años en la NFL (1987-2001). Las 26,288 yardas aéreas de Harbaugh es la mayor cantidad en la historia por un mariscal de campo de la NFL se luego se convirtiera en entrenador en jefe de la liga.

MARISCAL DE CAMPO - YARDAS AÉREAS EN SU CARRERA

Jim Harbaugh, 26,288
Bart Starr*, 24,718
Norm Van Brocklin*, 23,611
Sammy Baugh*, 21,886
Jim Zorn, 21,115

*Miembro del Salón de la Fama

Delivered Just in Time for Kickoff - Ingles

2011-09-09T12:41:00.000-03:00

If professional football did not exist, Madison Avenue would probably try to invent it. The sport delivers large audiences for the important fall and Christmas shopping seasons. Those audiences almost all watch the games live, meaning there is no fast-forwarding through commercials during DVR playbacks. And each season culminates with a mid-winter event during which viewers are known to focus on the ads as much as the action.

So this year’s lengthy lockout, which raised speculation that there would be no 2011-12 National Football League season, filled marketers and agencies with dread. The settlement that meant the season would start on time brought loud sighs of relief, along with a rush by N.F.L. sponsors to put the finishing touches on big new advertising efforts.

A notable example is FedEx, which will introduce a campaign during the first game of the season, between the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints, which will be broadcast by NBC on Thursday. The campaign presents a new theme, “Solutions that matter,” which replaces a theme, “We understand,” that was introduced in 2009.

“We were sweating” the potential for a delay or disruption, said Steve Pacheco, director for advertising at FedEx in Memphis.

With the potential of disruption in the past, he added, FedEx put together “an aggressive plan to launch the campaign.”

In addition to the television commercials, elements of the campaign include ads online as well as commercials in movie theaters and on the FedEx channel on YouTube, at youtube.com/FedEx. Also, a section of the FedEx Web site will be devoted to the campaign, at fedex.com/solutionsthatmatter.

Although the previous theme “performed well,” Mr. Pacheco said, “we needed to do a better job telling all the cool things we do to help solve people’s problems,” whether it is delivering precious cargo, printing documents or shipping golf clubs.

“We’re too young to have an identity crisis,” he said of FedEx, which began express package deliveries in 1973, “but we want to make sure people know all the roles we play.”

The first four commercials in the campaign use humor to try to achieve that goal. One spot borrows Hollywood techniques, including special effects and dramatic music, to tell how FedEx can deliver a heart valve from Australia “in time for an operation” in Los Angeles.

A second spot is devoted to explaining to the owner of an auto repair shop, who is looking for “an edge,” how FedEx can ship parts “from factories around the world” and “clear them through customs.”

A third commercial describes how the services available at FedEx Office stores can even help an entrepreneur who is hidden in the witness protection program.

And in a fourth commercial, a FedEx employee delivers packages to a company that is trying to be “more environmentally aware.” When he is unexpectedly asked to talk about FedEx’s green steps, he mentions “more electric trucks and lower-emission planes” as well as reusable envelopes.

The campaign is being produced by the longtime creative agency for FedEx, BBDO New York, part of the BBDO North America unit of BBDO Worldwide, which is owned by the Omnicom Group.

“Once you change people’s perspectives of what FedEx can do, they can connect the dots fairly quickly,” said Mike Smith, executive creative director at BBDO New York.

Mr. Pacheco described the budget for the campaign as “healthy,” adding with a laugh, “We’ve saved up our nickels and dimes.”

According to the Kantar Media unit of WPP, FedEx spent $10.6 million to advertise in major media in the first quarter compared with $29.7 million in the same period of 2010.

Ad spending by FedEx totaled $121.1 million last year, Kantar Media reported, up from $103.4 million in 2009 and $117.1 million in 2008, but down from $162.1 million in 2007.

Another sign of the ardor among advertisers for the N.F.L. is the strong demand for commercial time in Super Bowl XLVI, to be broadcast by NBC on Feb. 5, 2012.

Of the estimated 63 30-second commercial slots during the game, all but five or six are already sold, at prices estimated to be as much as $3.5 million apiece.

Among those already identified as Super Bowl sponsors are Anheuser-Busch InBev, Century 21, Chevrolet, GoDaddy, Mercedes-Benz and Pepsi-Cola. FedEx had been a regular Super Bowl advertiser but skipped the game in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

“Officially, we don’t know yet” whether the company will return to the Super Bowl next year, Mr. Pacheco said. “The decision will be made very soon.”

Perhaps tipping his hand, he added, “I do believe there’ll be other opportunities, maybe outside the Super Bowl, for big impact” for the campaign.

The new football season will also usher in the annual spate of ads with popular N.F.L. players as the stars. Among them will be a campaign for the Ugg line of men’s shoes and boots sold by the Deckers Outdoor Corporation, featuring Tom Brady of the New England Patriots.

A commercial created by the Los Angeles office of M&C Saatchi, in which Mr. Brady wears Ugg footwear, is to run on Monday on ESPN during the first “Monday Night Football” game of the season. The spot is also appearing online on Web sites that include uggaustralia.com.

The campaign includes national print and outdoor ads created by House Design and Film in Los Angeles. (source New York Times)

ESPN is ready for a great deal more football - Ingles

2011-09-09T12:36:00.002-03:00

ESPN announced a new eight-year multimedia rights agreement with the National Football League Thursday. The deal features an expansion of ESPN’s already robust highlight rights, as well as rights to more than 500 new hours of NFL programming each year, the latter starting this season.

Beginning this week, ESPN is adding new NFL-branded shows and expanding several existing programs, including its signature Sunday NFL Countdown pregame – now three hours on NFL Sundays (10 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET), beginning this Sunday, Sept. 11. The significantly expanded ESPN studio programming lineup, combined with ESPN’s presentation of sports television’s signature series, Monday Night Football, will continue to provide fans with comprehensive year-round coverage of the NFL.

ESPN and ABC Sports President George Bodenheimer said: “With a multitude of shows, networks and platforms, ESPN will continue to cover the NFL like no other media company can.”

Notable additions to ESPN’s new NFL programming lineup include:

Sunday NFL Countdown … expands to three hours this weekend
ESPN’s award-winning Sunday morning preview show expands to three hours (previously two), beginning Sunday, Sept. 11, at 10 a.m. ET with longtime host Chris Berman and analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter. In addition, MNF sideline reporter Suzy Kolber will move to a studio-based role this fall where she will work alongside two-time Super Bowl champion coach Bill Parcells and analyst Merril Hoge on Countdown. The show will include even more analysis, news, discussion and features.

NFL Live … expands to one hour, starting today
ESPN’s year-round weekday NFL news and information show hosted by Trey Wingo will expand to one hour (previously 30 minutes), beginning at 4 p.m. this afternoon, the day the 2011-12 NFL season kicks off.

NFL 32 … new show debuts Tuesday
This new year-round one-hour daily weekday show at 6 p.m. on ESPN2, starting Tuesday, Sept. 13, will feature hosts Kolber and Senior Insider Mortensen and a rotating cast of ESPN NFL analysts and guests in a highly interactive, unscripted format, discussing the biggest topics of the day from all 32 NFL teams.

NFL Kickoff … new show debuts next Friday
This new one-hour weekly Friday night show at 7 p.m. on ESPN2 will help kick off football weekends at ESPN with a look at every NFL matchup. Berman will host the first two episodes (Sept. 16 and 23) before Wingo assumes the permanent host position, where he will be joined by Mark Schlereth and another ESPN NFL analyst each week as they cover the team news, strategies, injuries and fantasy information that NFL fans need to know.

Audibles … becomes weekly Thursday night show
The pro football-themed discussion show driven by fan-generated questions that was first introduced in a limited run last season becomes a part of ESPN’s weekly Thursday night fall lineup beginning tonight at 7 p.m. Originating from ESPN’s Los Angeles studios, the show features four analysts from a rotation that includes Pro Football Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Steve Young, plus Keyshawn Johnson, Herm Edwards, and Trent Dilfer, among others, without a formal host. Fans control the content by submitting questions and conversation topics on ESPN’s Facebook and Twitter pages for the analysts to discuss and debate.

In addition to ESPN’s NFL-branded shows, at least 30 additional ESPN programs across multiple networks and platforms will utilize NFL highlights as part of the agreement, including SportsCenter, First Take, Around the Horn, Pardon The Interruption, Jim Rome is Burning, Mike & Mike In the Morning, Outside the Lines, SportsNation, The Sports Reporters, ESPN Deportes’ NFL Esta Noche, new ESPN2 shows Dan Le Batard is Highly Questionable and Numbers Never Lie, ESPN.com, Mobile ESPN and more.

Downloadable photos of NFL coverage on ESPN programs
For more information on ESPN’s NFL coverage, visit ESPN’s NFL press kit

ESPN’s 2011 NFL TV Program Lineup:

Sundays:
Time (ET) - Show
3 a.m., 7:30 a.m.
8:30 a.m. (ESPN2)
NFL Matchup
(30 minutes)

10 a.m.
Sunday NFL Countdown
(3 hours)

11:30 a.m.
(ESPN2)
Fantasy Football Now
(90 minutes)

7 p.m.
SportsCenter +

11 p.m.
“The Blitz” on SportsCenter ^

* All shows on ESPN unless noted
+ NFL highlights segments with Chris Berman, Tom Jackson, Trent Dilfer and John Saunders
^ NFL highlights segments with Berman and Jackson

Mondays on ESPN:
Time (ET) - Show
3 p.m.
NFL Primetime

4 p.m.
NFL Live

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8:30 p.m.
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11:30 p.m.
SportsCenter ~

1 a.m.
NFL Primetime (updated)

* Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption air between 5-6 p.m.
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Weekdays:
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4 p.m., Mon.-Fri.
(ESPN)
NFL Live
(1 hour)

6 p.m., Mon.-Fri.
(ESPN2)
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7 p.m., Thurs.
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NFL counting on big attendance numbers - Ingles

2011-09-09T12:31:00.002-03:00

So much for the long and bitter NFL lockout driving away pro football fans. The NFL projects paid attendance to rebound for its 2011 regular season and be even with last year after three consecutive seasons of falling live attendance from 2008-10, according to spokesman Brian McCarthy.

The solid outlook could signal more fans are willing to spend money on pro sports in the struggling U.S. economy. The NFL's three-year attendance drop coincided with the Great Recession that officially started in December, 2007.

The NFL's 32 clubs drew overall paid regular season attendance of 16,569,514 and average game attendance of 64,978 in 2010. Those numbers were down less than 0.5% from 2009 and off 1.7% from 2008. And down 4.5% from the league's record year of 2007, when the economy was clicking on all cylinders.

The NFL's average ticket prices rose 4.5% to $76.47 in 2010, according to Team Marketing Report. The New England Patriots charged the highest average ticket price at $117.84; the Cleveland Browns the cheapest at $54.51.

Across the board, 24 clubs are holding average ticket prices flat for the new season while eight are raising average prices, says McCarthy. Those increasing prices are mostly jacking up tickets in more expensive sections rather than those in cheaper upper bowls.

"Following a summer of uncertainty, fans have come back with even more passion and enthusiasm than before," says McCarthy. "We're not settling for back to normal, we're looking to accelerate everything we do."
The nation's most popular pro sports league is getting more positive news as it gets sets to kick off its new season Thursday night with the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers taking on the New Orleans Saints.

NFL clubs drew higher TV ratings for preseason games from Aug. 11 through Sept. 2. Teams averaged a 15.3 household rating across their home markets, up 4% from the same period last year and 9% from the 2009 preseason.

NBC is nearing an advertising sellout already for its broadcast of Super Bowl XLVI from Indianapolis on Feb. 5, 2012. The network has less than half a dozen 30-second ad slots left. It's seeking an average asking price of $3.5 million.

Corporate sponsors are back on board too. PepsiCo and the NFL renewed their sponsorship deal with a new long-term agreement that keeps Pepsi MAX as the "official" soft drink of the NFL and includes Gatorade, Frito-Lay, Tropicana and Quaker Oats. This week, the NFL also signed Marriott, Bose and USAA as new sponsors and renewed General Motors.

As more cash-strapped fans watched games for free from home last year, the NFL drew record viewership of 207.7 million in 2010. Game telecasts averaged 17.9 million viewers, the highest since 1989. (source USA Today)

NFL decides to make Fantasy football real at NFL games - Ingles

2011-09-09T12:27:00.002-03:00

A dream come true for fantasy football players attending live NFL games? Or a sell-out move that could tick off sports purists?

Starting with tonight's Green Bay Packers-New Orleans Saints season opener, the NFL is directing all 32 clubs to display real-time fantasy football stats at all home games for the new 2011 season, says league spokesman Brian McCarthy.

Previously, it was up to individual clubs to decide if they wanted to show player stats from out-of-town games on their scoreboards rather than focusing on their own. Not any more.

The NFL is reaching out to millions of fantasy players who feel somewhat cut off while attending live games. Many fantasy players already use mobile devices to keep in touch with how their players and teams are doing.

But the NFL wants fans at live games to feel as plugged in as they would be on their couch at home. So NFL headquarters will be shooting all teams' real-time fantasy stats -- and directing them to post on video boards for fans in the stands.

The reason is simple: In today's struggling economy, the NFL is worried fans will watch games for free at home where they have access to the NFL RedZone channel and the Internet rather shelling out cash for tickets, parking, food and beers at stadiums.

"We know we have to continue to do more to keep fans coming to our games," McCarthy says. "We're looking at ways to further replicate the at-home experience in the stadium." (source USA Today)

A fantasy sports dream - Jets & Giants stadium scoreboard to show player stats - Ingles

2011-09-09T12:23:00.000-03:00

The NFL scoreboard at the New Meadowlands is about to get just a little more crowded.

No, the Giants and Jets aren't selling more naming rights. But like the rest of the NFL, they are going to show more than mere scores during games this season.

In a move that allows the league to cater to fantasy football fanatics, NFL teams will show individual player statistics on stadium scoreboards. Fans at Thursday night's Packers-Saints game will be the first to experience the new setup.

According to NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy, the move is not mandated by the NFL, as was originally reported, but the league has "strongly urged" teams to take advantage of the service, which will originate from the league office. According to McCarthy, nearly every NFL team is utilizing the service.

"We're doing our best to add value to the in-stadium experience," McCarthy told the Daily News. "In some ways, we're competing with ourselves."

Through television services such as the NFL Red Zone package, which allows viewers to watch key highlights from every game during commercial breaks, the league has created a well-rounded TV experience for NFL fans, McCarthy said. In part because of its sometimes-bloated price, the live experience has struggled to compete with that home experience. The league's regular-season paid attendance totals fell for the third straight season in 2010.

It's unlikely that a simple scoreboard alteration will change that, but it will give fantasy owners more incentive to come to games. For years, diehard fantasy players have sat in NFL stadiums and spent most of their time staring at their cell phone's fantasy tracking app.

They might as well stay at home and just watch the game on TV, right? Now, McCarthy says, they won't need to do that.

"We know that many fans sit at home and are watching more than one game and paying attention to many games and statistics," he said. This article was written by Ebenezer Samuel and appeared in The New York Daily News.

Big Bucks for football tickets in the Big Apple - Ingles

2011-09-09T12:18:00.002-03:00

Checking out a home opener this season is high on many people's to-do list, but more of those people want to see the Jets than the Giants.

Gang Green, which opens MetLife Stadium against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night, commands an average ticket price of $237 on the secondary ticket market, according to SeatGeek.com's Ben Kessler. The secondary market, made up of websites like StubHub and eBay, is "always a real good indicator of fan sentiment," Kessler, the company's director of communications, says.

Tickets for the Giants' home opener in week 2 against the Rams are averaging $196 among ticket resellers.

But that doesn't mean New York has become the Jets' town just yet. Last season, when the Giants hosted the first game, they held the advantage, leading Kessler to believe that some fans just want to see the first home game of the year, regardless of which team is playing.

In addition, the Jets host a stronger opponent this season and are opening on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, both factors in their favor, Kessler says.

"I think it will be an emotional game for a lot of New Yorkers," he says.

The Giants actually hold a slight edge in average ticket prices for the whole season. That, Kessler noted, won't hold up should their performance dip (or the Jets go on a tear).

"A team's ticket prices go hand-in-hand with how the team is expected to do," he says.

The top-priced opening week game is the Steelers at the Ravens, where the average secondary market ticket price is $287.

Price movement as of late has been upward, says Kessler, as opening Sunday approaches, although prices now are not as high as they were when the lockout ended (source New York Daily News)

Forbes 2011 NFL Franchise Valuation - Ingles

2011-09-09T12:11:00.002-03:00

Source Forbes.com

Up, up and away - the value of NFL franchises - Ingles

2011-09-09T12:10:00.002-03:00

It will take more than a historic recession and a player lockout to sack the business of football.

The average National Football League team is now worth $1.04 billion, 1.4% more than last year. During the 2010 season average revenues for the league’s 32 teams rose 4% compared with the previous season, to $261 million. Although operating income (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) fell 8.1%, to an average of $30.6 million per team due to higher costs for stadium operations, training facilities and marketing, the new collective bargaining agreement will give owners a bigger slice of overall revenue.

The biggest winners are high-revenue team owners who will see their revenue sharing payments to their low-revenue rivals drop. In part this explains why the value of the top 10 teams rose 4% on average.

“The new CBA provides owners with a level of certainty as well as greater profitability,” says Marc Ganis, president of consultancy SportsCorp. The 10-year deal, the result of a four and a half month lockout of its players, ensures labor peace for the next decade as neither side can opt of the agreement.

Owners will pay players 47% to 48% of total revenues under the new pact, down from 51% under the old CBA. We estimate the NFL’s 32 teams generated a total of $8.3 billion in revenue last year, which is a 4% gain from 2009 (our figures include the net proceeds the teams receive from sources like merchandise and NFL.com).

Under the new CBA, teams will receive around $250 million per year more at first based on the new revenue split. That figure will climb substantially as the league negotiates new television contacts over the next 12-months. The current deals with CBS, ESPN, FOX and NBC expire after the 2013 season and owners are expecting increases up to 60% on the current $3.1 billion average annual value of those deals (DirecTV brings in additional $1 billion each year). Given the league’s high television ratings and the lust males between the age of 18 and 45 have for watching football, such a boost is not inconceivable.

Led by maverick team owner Jerry Jones, the most valuable team for the fifth straight year is the Dallas Cowboys, worth $1.85 billion, up 2% from last year. Jones and his Cowboys continue to find ways to leverage their powerful brand. In 2008, they launched Legends Hospitality Management, a stadium-logistics business run in partnership with the New York Yankees and Goldman Sachs. The $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium opened in 2009 with a splash thanks to its 160-foot wide scoreboard and seating for up to 100,000 for special events.

The latest venture is Silver Star Merchandising, a Cowboys-owned company, which signed a deal this year with the University of Southern California athletic department to make and distribute merchandise (excluding team jerseys and sideline apparel). The 10-year deal begins with the 2011 football season.

Cowboys Stadium continues to be a gold mine for Jones. The 320 suites and 15,000 club seats at JerryWorld generate $115 million in revenue annually. Sponsorship revenues are $50 million even with the Cowboys inability to ink a naming rights partner for the venue. The Cowboys earned $119 million in operating income last season, the most in the NFL for a second straight year.

The Giants (No. 4 at $1.3 billion) and Jets (No. 5 at $1.22 billion) saw their values rise 10% and 7% respectively as the new $1.4 billion stadium they share opened in 2010. The lousy economy hindered ticket sales and both teams failed to sell out their club seat inventory. The Jets in particular were forced to slash some personal seat licenses for season tickets by 50%.

It still represented a dramatic upgrade financially for both teams. The Giants saw premium seating revenue jump from $8 million to more than $50 million. The Jets doubled sponsorship revenues to $35 million annually. The fortunes of both teams got a further lift in August when MetLife agreed to spend more than $400 million over 25 years for the naming rights to the former New Meadowlands Stadium. It is the NFL’s richest naming rights deal ever.

There is a growing divide between the rich and poor NFL franchises (poor being a relative term as all 32 teams rank among the 50 most valuable sports teams in the world). Supplemental revenue sharing payments to low revenue teams under the old CBA were expected to rise to $220 million with high rolling teams like the Cowboys, Washington Redskins (No. 2, worth $1.55 billion) and New England Patriots (No. 3, worth $1.4 billion) supplying much of the welfare and on the hook for more than $10 million apiece.

Under the new CBA, the amount any big market teams will have to kick into the system is capped at $3.5 million. Low revenue teams will receive only $50 million to $100 million collectively in the early years of the deal according to NFL estimates. Leaguewide revenues are expected to increase to the point where supplemental revenue sharing almost disappears by the end of the new 10-year CBA.

The new CBA hurts teams at the bottom of the financial pyramid as well because beginning in 2013, teams must spend 89% of the salary cap in cash or be subject to penalties. Keeping a lid on player costs allowed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to be football’s fourth most profitable teams over the past five years. The Bucs’ player costs were $35 million lower than any other team during that time and $150 million less than the Cowboys. The Chiefs, Bills and Bengals have also kept spending in check fattening up the bottom line. That is not an option anymore. While the value of the top teams is up, the bottom 10 stayed flat on average. (source Forbes -- Kurt Badenhausen)

A few more court dates and a football stadium in L.A. could be on the way - Ingles

2011-09-09T12:08:00.000-03:00

In gridiron jargon, promoters of a downtown Los Angeles football stadium have reached the legislative red zone. They're pounding toward the goal line.

They're at the 10 on first down, but time is running out.

This year's legislative session is slated to end Friday, although there's nothing written in stone about that deadline. Legislators could waive the rules and go into overtime, but it's not likely. They seem as sick of the Sacramento game as the public.

One of the heavily lobbied bills in play would fast-track legal challenges to Anschutz Entertainment Group's proposed 72,000-seat stadium, Farmers Field, next to Staples Center, which it also developed.

It would be nice for L.A. Basin football fans to have a local NFL team to root for again. It has been 17 seasons since the Raiders deserted to Oakland and the Rams to St. Louis.

Some degree of civic pride is at stake, although I tend to agree with the headline on a recent sports column by The Times' T.J. Simers, which read: "The best seat for games is the one in your house."

Simers wrote: "You take two NFL teams away at the same time and don't replace them for a span of 17 years, and as anyone [in L.A.] could tell you, it makes for great TV."

That's because with a local team come restrictions on televised games. The cruelest restriction is a local blackout on TV coverage of a home game if the stadium isn't sold out 72 hours before kickoff.

And these days, as Simers noted, "it's going to cost at least a car payment" to attend an NFL game.

Last season, the average ticket price for a San Diego Chargers game was about $158; for the San Francisco 49ers $142. That didn't include outrageous prices for parking, nachos and beer.

Of course, this stadium project isn't just about wealthy football hobbyists who can afford season ducats or millions of rooting couch potatoes.

Its chief selling point is job creation â€” and not just for the players, whose average salary last season was $1.9 million, or merely for the hordes of lobbyists and consultants hired by politically influential AEG to quarterback its bill.

Promoters contend this $1.2-billion project â€” essentially privately financed â€” would create more than 20,000 jobs, 6,320 of them permanent.

The bill, SB 292 â€” by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) and strongly pushed by Assembly Speaker John PÃ©rez (D-Los Angeles) â€” is aimed at cutting several months, if not years, off construction.

It would not exempt AEG from any requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act, a costly quicksand pit for many frustrated developers. It still would be subject to lawsuits.

But court rulings would come more quickly than normal. Suits would bypass the Superior Court and go directly to an appellate court. And a decision would have to be rendered within 175 days, rather than taking up to a year, as is typical.

In return, AEG has promised to make its stadium the most environmentally friendly in the NFL, and the Padilla bill would require it. Farmers Field would have to maximize public transportation and be "carbon neutral." Not as sweet a deal as the Legislature granted two years ago to a potential rival stadium in the City of Industry.

The L.A. bill was tweaked Tuesday to pick up the support of two key environmental groups: the Natural Resources Defense Council and the California League of Conservation Voters.

The measure passed the Assembly overwhelmingly on Wednesday and moved to the Senate.

If AEG should come up short, it won't be the fault of any legislative dysfunction. It would be the fault of AEG for delaying the legislative process by not announcing its specific proposal until last Friday.

The developer's representatives spent weeks trying to negotiate a private backroom deal between competing interests. The plan was to jam through a bill at the last minute without public hearings, leaving little time for the generation of public opposition.

Actually, given high unemployment and the stagnant economy, there's little to complain about in the measure â€” especially since Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) entered the game.

Steinberg asked the same question that has bothered Gov. Jerry Brown: Why pass a bill just to help one outfit? Why not grant the same lawsuit shortcuts to other large environmentally friendly, job-creating developers?

Shortcuts that would help developers of renewable energy and urban "in-fill" projects â€” such as a potential downtown Sacramento basketball arena aimed at keeping the NBA Kings from moving to Anaheim.

Steinberg is pushing a companion bill to do just that, and it makes sense. The governor would decide which projects qualified for lawsuit expediting. It's a needed step toward reforming the cumbersome environmental quality act and erasing the perception that California is anti-business.

"Thirty days ago if you'd asked me whether there was a mood in the Capitol to embrace changes in [the California Environmental Quality Act] I would have said, 'I don't think so,'" Padilla says. "The unemployment rate has led to a climate that I haven't seen in five years up here."

And it's football season.

Hopefully neither the Legislature nor the governor will trip over their cleats. This article was written by George Skelton and appeared in The Los Angeles Times.

The Los Angeles Chargers would be worth more money - INGLES

2011-09-09T12:07:00.002-03:00

If the San Diego Chargers eventually move to the Los Angeles area, the NFL franchise could see its value jump by at least $200 million.

So concluded Forbes as the magazine Wednesday unveiled its annual ranking of how much the 32 NFL teams are worth.

The Chargers' value was estimated at $920 million, or 23rd highest in the league, a 1.4% increase from $907 million the prior year.

But with two competing proposals to build a new NFL stadium, if the Chargers moved to Los Angeles or an L.A. suburb, it "would increase the team's value by at least $200 million," or 21.7%, the magazine stated.

That would lift the Chargers' value to $1.12 billion and make it the eighth most valuable NFL team based on Forbes' latest ranking.

The Dallas Cowboys, with a value of $1.85 billion, were the most valuable NFL team for the fifth consecutive year. The Washington Redskins ($1.56 billion) were second, the New England Patriots ($1.4 billion) third and the New York Giants ($1.3 billion) fourth.

Overall, the average NFL team was worth $1.04 billion, also up 1.4% from last year, Forbes said.

A move to Los Angeles would boost the Chargers' value for several reasons, analysts said: A new stadium would offer more lucrative sponsorship opportunities, the larger population offers a wider customer base for premium ticket sales and the team would draw heightened media attention.

Los Angeles is "a stronger market for corporations and others to spend money at the stadium," said David Carter, executive director of USC's Sports Business Institute. "Any team relocating to Los Angeles would likely find itself in the top quartile of teams" in terms of NFL valuations.

But it's the Chargers, currently controlled by the Spanos family, who are considered the leading candidate to move if one of the two stadium proposals actually results in a new venue.

One is a stadium in downtown Los Angeles next to Staples Center backed by billionaire Philip Anschutz's AEG sports and entertainment concern. The other is a stadium in City of Industry backed by billionaire developer Ed Roski.

"The Chargers are only going to move to L.A. for a better stadium situation, and that would increase the value of the franchise," said Forbes Senior Editor Kurt Badenhausen.

Forbes noted that though the Chargers have a favorable lease at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, the facility was built in 1967 and "lacks modern amenities and sponsorship opportunities."

A new stadium generally "lends itself to more types of club areas that can be sponsored for companies that want to reach high-end clientele," Badenhausen said.

And, "The corporate base in L.A. is enormous relative to some of these other markets" and thus a deeper potential reservoir for an NFL team looking to sell higher-priced seats and sponsorships, he said. This article was written by James Peltz and appeared in The Los Angeles Times.

NFL returns from the dead - Ingles

2011-09-09T11:34:00.002-03:00

In early August, commissioner Roger Goodell and the players union rolled back the rock in front of the league crypt and out popped the NFL, looking surprisingly spry for a guy that had been dead for a few months.

The 2010-11 NFL season played out like the minutes leading up to closing time at your local. As it got toward the end, there was a desperate surge toward the bar to ram in a few last moments of fun.

It was capped by the perfect denouement — the forces of light (Green Bay) overcoming the army of darkness (Ben Roethlisberger). But the lead-up to the championship game was dire.

Shuffling between a series of drab hotel ballrooms in icy Dallas ahead of Super Bowl XLV, listening to a shifting roster of spiffy apparatchiks droning on about doing what was best for football by no longer playing football, it felt like whatever was coming would be long, ugly and intractable.

Once the lawyers got involved, a solution seemed impossible.

Then everyone looked around a negotiating table and realized, hey, we’re already rich, and we’re going to get much richer. Then it was suddenly over. There’s a lesson in this for all labour activists — the easiest way to divide any financial pie is to make sure it’s got a $9 billion filling.

Now the NFL looks an even bigger and more compelling juggernaut than it ever was. If Thursday night’s first tilt — Saints vs. the Packers in Green Bay — doesn’t make you tingle, then ask a friend to roll back the rock in front of your crypt.

Last season was about decline toward the unknown. This season is about renewal. Of old rivalries, hope for fading stars and a slate of new faces.

No league in the world has a shorter half-life than the NFL. As we were reminded ad nauseam during the lockout, the average length of an NFL career is three years. A new owner-friendly CBA will hasten that constant renewal. It’s bad for players and good for fans. If you don’t like today’s NFL, go watch basketball for a couple of months. The NFL will look different when you return.

That trend is apparent in the league’s ancien régime, which suddenly looks really ancien. Peyton Manning’s aching neck and his soon-to-be-broken consecutive starts streak are only the first symptom.

So the first and best storyline of the new season is “one last time.”

Can the Patriots ride Tom Brady to a fourth championship before they begin another rebuild? Can Manning do the same for the Colts? How much longer can those twin peaks of stardom in the game dominate?

February’s Super Bowl will be held in Indianapolis. If the league could give Manning and Co. a bye into that game, they would. With his prematurely aged face and bumptious patter, Manning humanized the league for those who don’t eat their meat raw.

After he’s gone, expect Ndamukong Suh, the scariest man alive, to be the guy sending you the league’s best Christmas wishes. If your TV is 3D, Suh might end up actually punching you in the face. The league would love to enjoy one more year of dominance by Manning, your grandmother’s favourite player, before a Visigoth like Suh takes over.

But getting through the AFC South looks like a tall order for Manning’s Colts, especially with creaky fill-in Kerry Collins playing the role of Manning. It doesn’t matter if the Colts forfeit the first four games, the entire first half of the season will be sponsored by the Peyton You Can Never Leave Us foundation.

This new NFL has been unfriendly to bubble players and fringe talents. There are now two classes in the league — elite stars and gap fillers. The NFL is starting to look a lot like the country it represents — a community without a middle class.

That’s allowed several teams stuck in the second-tier to reel in the traditional powers (in NFL terms, “traditional” means over the last three years).

The Saints, Steelers, Packers, Chargers, Falcons, Ravens and Jets are still class squads. While they were looking — they’ve done very little but look and worry — the Eagles, Lions, Texans and Cowboys have begun to close ground behind them.

The Eagles in particular have assembled a squad that makes opponents tremble and accountants squirm. Philadelphia added six Pro Bowlers in the off-season. For flavour, they shoehorned in a couple of other guys who used to be all-stars. The team is now so loaded that one Pro Bowl cornerback will have to sit and watch while the other two Pro Bowl cornerbacks play each series. A cornerback rotation is the new definition of defensive depth.

No merciful God would allow the city of Philadelphia to win two championships in one contiguous sports season. So since the Phillies are going to win the World Series, the Eagles will not be allowed to win the Super Bowl. We hope.

Despite the Eagles’ gains, no one is talking about dream teams — especially in Miami, where they still feel ashamed. Just getting past the Giants and the Cowboys in the NFC East is a gruelling hike. Philadelphia has to concentrate on September (and the Falcons in Atlanta in Week 2) before they start thinking about February.

That’s the beauty of the league right there.

Parity and violence drive the NFL’s popularity. The former continues to blossom, while the latter is being pruned. Purists are already moaning about the new kickoff rule — which will see the ball placed on the 35-yard-line rather than the 30, thus drastically reducing the number of run-backs and brain-rattling hits — but their complaints haven’t found much purchase in the general imagination of sports fans.

The NHL should be taking notes — if you simply implement rule changes, instead of waffling about them in public for months, fans will accept them.

That heartening equilibrium at the top makes picking winners a mug’s game. If you like the feeling of being right, head down to the bottom.

That’s where the wretched Cincinnati Bengals — who spent the off-season getting even more wretched — appear poised to win the next off-season. By finishing dead last they will guarantee themselves possession of the first sure thing in the draft since Manning himself — Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.

That’s good news for Toronto’s imaginary American girlfriend, the Buffalo Bills. At least someone will be worse than them. It’s going to be a long season at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Playing that one game in October at the Rogers Centre is going to seem less like a carnival and more like a week-long furlough. This article was written by Cathal Kelly and appeared in The Toronto Star.

ESPN, NFL Reach Eight-Year Extension for Monday Night Football - Ingles

2011-09-08T15:14:00.002-03:00

Broad Studio, Multimedia and International Rights Included.

Monday Night Football, the most successful series in sports media history, will remain on ESPN through the 2021 NFL season under a new eight-year agreement between ESPN and the National Football League, it was announced today by ESPN and ABC Sports President George Bodenheimer and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. The broad multiplatform agreement, which begins in 2014, includes eight full seasons of MNF telecasts, expanded NFL studio programming (beginning this week), highlight rights for TV and ESPN.com, the Pro Bowl, the NFL Draft, 3D rights, and enhanced international rights.

The extensive package of NFL rights will fuel the continued growth of ESPN year-round, boosting its core television business while at the same time supporting the company’s “best available screen” strategy with NFL programs on TV, online and on mobile devices via authentication and digital rights. Outside the U.S., ESPN will televise MNF and other regular season games, playoffs, and the Super Bowl in 30 million households in 144 countries and territories across five continents, including Brazil, the Caribbean, Africa, Middle East, Israel, Australia-New Zealand, and Continental Europe. The agreement also provides the NFL with an option to air a postseason Wild Card playoff game on ESPN should the NFL decide to do so.

An iconic series in the history of American television, Monday Night Football debuted in 1970. After a 36-year run on ABC, the series moved to ESPN in 2006 as part of a landmark eight-year agreement. During the past five seasons, ESPN’s MNF has become the most-watched series in cable television history, registering eight of cable’s 10 all-time biggest household audiences and 16 of the top 20 (excluding breaking news). In 2010, MNF ranked eighth among all primetime programs (broadcast or cable), averaging 10.5 million homes (14.7 million viewers), an unprecedented achievement for a cable television property. In addition, an estimated 140 million people viewed MNF and NFL studio programming on ESPN/ESPN2 over the course of the 2010 NFL season

Said Bodenheimer: “Today, we’ve secured cable’s most valuable television franchise, along with an enhanced international package of year-round multimedia rights. It will help grow our business well into the next decade. No one has the breadth of worldwide media assets or the ability to monetize a property the way ESPN can, particularly with Monday Night Football and our complete NFL coverage.”

“We are proud to extend our three-decade partnership with ESPN,” said Commissioner Goodell. “We have come a long way together since ESPN first televised the NFL Draft in 1980. With this new agreement we are excited about the opportunity to take the NFL-ESPN partnership to innovative new heights in serving the most passionate fans in sports.”

ESPN’s significantly-enhanced NFL rights package for the extension will include:
· Telecast rights to 17 Monday Night Football games per season for eight additional seasons (2014-2021).
· Rights to more than 500 new hours of NFL-branded studio programming per year, starting this week. Popular programs such as ESPN’s Emmy Award-winning Sunday NFL Countdown pre-game show (expands to three hours), NFL Live (expands to one hour year-round), Monday Night Countdown, NFL PrimeTime, and NFL Matchup will continue, and ESPN will create more NFL-branded studio programming, including NFL 32 and NFL Kickoff, both debuting this week.
· Expanded highlight rights across ESPN’s television and ESPN.com;
· Pro Bowl;
· NFL Draft, which ESPN has covered since 1980;
· 3D distribution rights;
· Rights to simulcast network coverage of ESPN’s MNF and NFL studio programs on tablet devices through ESPN’s WatchESPN App;
· Continued Spanish-language rights to MNF on ESPN Deportes;
· International rights, including distribution of MNF on ESPN International networks in select markets in Brazil, the Caribbean, Africa, Middle East, Israel, Europe and Australia-New Zealand through 2021; regular season, playoffs and Super Bowl in select markets, totaling 30 million households in 144 countries and territories across five continents; and the ability to utilize NFL programming on all platforms as part of a linear stream of ESPN network programming.

The long-term agreement also ensures that Monday Night Football will celebrate its 50th anniversary season on ESPN in 2020.

ESPN first televised Sunday primetime NFL games in 1987, covering the second half of the regular season (eight games annually,1987-89; nine games, 1990-97), and expanding to a full slate of 18 games from 1998-2005. ESPN has carried a 17-game Monday Night Football schedule since 2006. ESPN is coming off a record-breaking season in 2010.

· Monday Night Football averaged a 10.5 rating, and 10.5 million homes (14.7 million viewers). ESPN won the night vs. all networks, cable or broadcast, among men 18-34 and men 18-49 every week during the 2010 season and consistently competed against the broadcast networks in total viewers on Monday nights;
· MNF ranked second among all regularly scheduled prime time programs in 2010 among men 18-34, men 18-49 and men 25-54. Among adults 18-49, MNF ranked fourth;
· MNF games accounted for cable television’s 16 biggest audiences among households, and the 12 biggest among total viewers, in 2010;
· Sunday NFL Countdown averaged a 2.1 rating and 2,167,000 households (2,055,000 viewers) in 2010. The household impressions mark represents an eight percent increase from Countdown’s 2005 season (1,997,000 household impressions), the final year of ESPN’s previous NFL agreement;
· Monday Night Countdown had its highest-rated and most-viewed season ever in 2010, averaging a 2.7 rating and 2,729,000 households (3,532,000 viewers). In 2005 (the final year of ESPN’s previous NFL deal), Monday Night Countdown averaged 1,749,000 households for the season.

NFL Content on ESPN Digital Platforms:
· ESPN averaged 42.2 million unique visitors on the site in fall 2010;
· Sundays during the NFL season are the highest trafficked days of the year for ESPN.com
· During the 2010 season, NFL content represented 39% of the page views generated on ESPN.com, highest of any sport.
· The NFL fan spends over 50% more time with ESPN media than the average person;
· ESPN.com NFL coverage on Sunday and Monday (including the home page, NFL section and Fantasy Football section) averaged 47.4 million visits and 271.4 million minutes of usage during the 2010 season, a year-to-year increase of 20% on visits and 20% on minutes.
· NFL coverage (incl. NFL and Fantasy Football section) on the ESPN Mobile web site and ScoreCenter app in 2010 delivered 14.5 million visits and 101.4 million minutes each week, increases of 66% and 61%, respectively, versus the prior year.

NBC TO AIR “NFL KICKOFF 2011: BACK TO FOOTBALL” SPECIAL - Ingles

2011-09-08T15:07:00.001-03:00

SATURDAY AT 8 PM ET

Features Jon Bon Jovi performing ‘America the Beautiful’ from NYC firehouse & kickoff highlights of Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum & Maroon 5

NFL Network & NBC Sports talent preview Week 1

To celebrate the kickoff of the 2011 NFL season, NFL Network and NBC Sports will present a one-hour NFL Kickoff 2011: Back to Football special Saturday, Sept. 10 at 8 PM ET on NBC.

The show, a joint NFL Network/NBC Sports production, will feature football, music and a tribute to 9/11 first responders.

With BOB COSTAS hosting from atop 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, the NFL Kickoff 2011 Saturday night show previews the Week 1 games with commentary and analysis from NFL Network and NBC Sports talent. In addition, the special features a Costas interview with New York Jets head coach REX RYAN and a look ahead to the debut of the new NFL Films-produced NFL Turning Point, which premieres on VERSUS on Thursday, Sept. 15 at 10 PM ET.

Football Night in America’s Dan Patrick will host segments with Football Night colleagues TONY DUNGY and RODNEY HARRISON, who will preview Sunday night’s Cowboys-Jets game, and PETER KING and MIKE FLORIO, who will provide updated news and notes on the eve of the NFL’s first full Sunday of action.
The new six-man team from NFL Network’s Emmy-nominated NFL GameDay Morning – RICH EISEN, MARSHALL FAULK, STEVE MARIUCCI, MICHAEL IRVIN, WARREN SAPP and newcomer KURT WARNER – will debate whether the Philadelphia Eagles are truly the ‘dream team’ of the 2011 NFL season and provide their thoughts on what they’re most looking forward to this season.
From the field to the stage, KID ROCK, LADY ANTEBELLUM and MAROON 5 are featured with highlights from their NFL Kickoff 2011 performances at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

The show’s grand finale features rock icon JON BON JOVI paying tribute to the 9/11 first responders by performing ‘America the Beautiful’ this week at a New York City fire house (Engine 8, Ladder 2, Battalion 8). Ten years ago Bon Jovi’s stirring rendition of the song from the same firehouse aired nationally on Sept. 23, 2001 prior to kickoff of the first NFL games after 9/11.

NBC getting big bucks for Super Bowl spots - Ingles

2011-09-08T09:57:00.002-03:00

With a good five months before the Super Bowl kicks off in Indianapolis on Feb. 5, NBC has nearly sold out all of its most valuable football inventory.

According to Seth Winter, senior vice president of NBC Sports Group Sales & Marketing, “literally a handful of units” remain available in its Super Bowl XLVI broadcast. An estimated 63 in-game slots were up for grabs; of these perhaps as few as six remain.

Such is the strength of the market that NBC is guaranteed to smash all previous pricing records for the game. While Fox commanded $3 million per spot a year ago, NBC has raised the bar to as high as $3.5 million a pop.

“We originally set a target of $3.5 million. That was our asking price in the market,” Winter said. “But as we ventured into the market with the Super Bowl, we were always look for broader commitments across our sports assets. We don’t just sell Super Bowl positions, so depending on what other buys the clients made, the final price of an individual spot is a function of these other commitments.”

Each Super Bowl unit sold thus far is attached to some other NBC Sports offering, Winter said. Key among these is the 17-day 2012 Summer Olympics, which will unfold in London July 27-Aug. 12.

Despite fears that the NFL season would be delayed or scuttled altogether, sales of NBC’s Super Bowl inventory proceeded without interruption throughout the four-month labor dispute. In fact, two months after the lockout began on March 11, NBC had already sold half of its Super Bowl slots.

The fast-moving market is a recapitulation of Fox’s early sell-off of Super Bowl XLV. By early June 2010, Fox had already wrapped 80 percent of its Super Bowl business, a remarkable feat given that broadcasters had previously only reached that milestone in October—or about six weeks into the NFL regular season.

Then, as now, automotive dollars sparked the demand. And while Winter declined to identify the clients who have already committed to the Super Bowl, he acknowledged that NBC’s broadcast will be just as flush with car dollars as last year’s production.

“You will see the same strength in auto this year that you did last year,” Winter said. “I can literally count on the fingers of one hand the number of car advertisers who won’t be back.”

Last year, eight automakers bought 20 in-game Super Bowl spots, accounting for nearly one-third of the broadcast’s total avails. Among those who ponied up for the exposure were Audi, BMW, Volkswagen, Chrysler, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Mercedes, and Kia. The game marked Mercedes’ first foray into America’s great secular holiday; moreover, Fox welcomed back BMW after a 10-year absence.

The Steelers-Packers showdown smashed the record for the most-watched single TV event in American history, as an average 111 million viewers tuned into Fox on Feb. 6. With peak viewership reaching 162.9 million, more than half the total U.S. population saw at least part of the game, according to Nielsen.

Along with the in-game spots, NBC is doing well with its shoulder programming around the event. “We are very well sold throughout the day. As you know, there are people who for whatever reason do not buy the Super Bowl but want to be involved in the day. Those clients are buying category exclusiveness and [marquee] sponsorships in the programming leading up to the game.”

In the near term, NBC is all but sold out of its Sunday Night Football inventory. Loaded with big draws like the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, and New York Giants, the SNF slate kicks off Sept. 8 with an NFC matchup between Green Bay and New Orleans.

According to Nielsen, NBC last season averaged 21.2 million viewers per SNF broadcast, making it the most-watched package on television. “We are extraordinarily well sold in the regular season, and while the season hasn’t even started yet, we’ve already exceeded last year’s final revenue tally,” Winter said. “That in itself should speak to the increasingly healthy NFL marketplace.” (source Ad Week)

Clark Hunt puts his own stamp on NFL - Ingles

2011-09-08T09:54:00.001-03:00

He walks through a windowless corridor at M&T Bank Stadium, where the Baltimore Ravens play, and enters a secluded room that would be quiet if not for the chirp and roar of football players preparing for a game. The Chiefs’ locker room is next door, peace and madness separated by a thin wall.

Clark Hunt pays it no attention, because as long as he can remember, this sound has been the background track of his life.

It was his father, Lamar, who founded the Chiefs and was among a group that challenged — and defeated — the old guard of the NFL, seeing to it that their American Football League stood on equal ground. After the two leagues merged, Lamar coined the moniker for a championship game — a game so revered it should be called the Super Bowl.

“The things that he accomplished,” Clark says of his father, “I pretty early on accepted that I’m never going to accomplish as much.”

Clark Hunt is 46, and on this night, he’s sitting in a chair, his legs crossed and a brown blazer folded and hanging over the chair’s back. He speaks softly and winks when he says something that’s meant to be a joke.

Hunt still looks youthful, but his blond hair has a few more gray strands than when his father died in December 2006. That’s when Hunt took full control of the Chiefs, a year after becoming the organization’s chairman and appointing himself the man in charge of seeing his father’s baby into the future. Hunt and his three siblings share ownership of the Chiefs, but Clark is the man behind the wheel.

In these past five years, Hunt has revealed his leadership style. He is at times ruthless, and at all times competitive, making changes his father wouldn’t and helping to craft the Chiefs in his image. The team in the next room is young, aggressive and eager to prove it belongs in the national discussion. In many ways, that’s the best way to describe the man sitting here.

That’s what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell saw in 2007, when he appointed Hunt — the league’s youngest owner-representative — to its five-person Management Council Executive Committee. In June, Goodell and the league’s general counsel, Jeff Pash, deputized Hunt, a reserved and soft-spoken man with a knack for numbers and deal-making, to lead negotiations between owners and players on one of the principle disagreements during the NFL lockout.

“I would never describe him as a loud voice, if you know him,” Goodell says. “But he’s an effective voice.”

The two sides, confronted with a collective-bargaining chasm so wide that it threatened the 2011 season and the league’s future, ejected the attorneys and accountants. Fewer than a dozen men remained in the room in Minneapolis that day. Of all of them — men of power and riches, influence and fame — it was Lamar Hunt’s second-youngest son who’d been asked to explain and sell a proposal to the players that would prove to be a turning point.

“We were up against the wall that night, feeling a lot of pressure, and were on the verge of not going so well,” says Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth, one of the handful of player representatives in the room that night. “I credit Clark for, at least that night specifically, getting us back on track.”

• • •

The revelation began with profanity, a word that caught Hunt’s friend Scott Hutcheson by surprise. They had been chosen, young minds elite in the craft of numbers, and they met as junior analysts at New York’s Goldman Sachs investment banking firm. In 1987, Hutcheson says, about 6,000 college graduates applied to the firm, 600 were interviewed, and 60 were hired for a job whose employees considered knocking off at midnight an easy day.

They were ice skating in Central Park one afternoon when Hunt blurted something unfamiliar.

“I had never heard him swear before,” Hutcheson says.

They had to get to a sports bar, and fast. Why, Hutcheson wasn’t sure. In those days, Clark wasn’t much different than he is now. He was dogged and smart, calculating and quiet. And careful with information.

“He’s not going to offer all of the depth and all of the strength and all of the skills that are deeply embedded in his intellect,” Hutcheson says. “What you see is a quiet, reserved, thoughtful person.”

Hunt and Hutcheson worked long hours at Goldman Sachs, looking forward to drinks on Friday nights and workouts on Sundays. They had spent months working together when Hunt darted into a Hard Rock Café, his eyes fixed on the televised Chiefs game. Back then, the team was one of the NFL’s worst franchises. Hutcheson wondered why this Dallas native cared so much.

Someone else had put it together and nudged Hutcheson: Hunt’s family owned the team. Hutcheson watched as Hunt studied the game, intense as always during a decade of disappointment but little change. Lamar Hunt was folksy, popular and loyal; men who had been at Lamar’s side remained there, even as the franchise sank. With Jack Steadman as president and Jim Schaaf as general manager, the Chiefs reached the playoffs once in a dozen years.

Hutcheson says he asked Hunt why he never mentioned that he was part of the first family of the AFC. Hunt told his friend that he didn’t think he needed to know.

“He doesn’t talk,” says Hutcheson, who remains close with Hunt, “other than the content of what’s appropriate.”

• • •

The final days were approaching, and Lamar Hunt told Clark to come in close. Lamar had been diagnosed years earlier with prostate cancer, and the end was near. It was 2006.

After Clark’s term with Goldman Sachs ended, he joined his father in running the family’s sports franchises. Clark observed his father over the years, marveling sometimes at his ability to connect with strangers, solve problems and crunch numbers.

“What would be an easy computation on a calculator,” Clark says, “but one where I’d have to sit down and work it out by longhand … within about five seconds, he would say, ‘Oh, well, that’s 126,’ or whatever the answer was, and I’d go, ‘Wow.’ ”

Clark studied his father’s ways, intimidated sometimes by abilities he didn’t think he’d inherited. But in some ways, Lamar saw himself in Clark: soft-spoken, meticulous and good with numbers. Approaching 40 years old, he worked primarily with the family’s Major League Soccer teams, including, in those days, the Kansas City Wizards, but he says now that it was assumed he would someday succeed his father as the face of the Chiefs.

“There was a need,” he says, “for one of his kids to step up.”

Lamar first selected Clark to help negotiate the terms of a massive renovation to Arrowhead Stadium. The process lasted several years, winning approval and tax dollars in March 2006 but losing the rolling roof addition and the dream of playing host to a Super Bowl.

“The first chance I had to do something,” Clark says, “from a leadership standpoint.”

Eight months after the stadium renovation deal was finalized, Lamar suffered a partially collapsed lung and entered the hospital, where doctors discovered his cancer had spread. Weeks later, Lamar called Clark to his side.

“An incredibly emotional time,” Clark says now.

Lamar told his son to remember the fans — and to do Arrowhead right. Clark says this was Lamar, who was 74, telling him that the Chiefs — the franchise that had most defined him and made him proudest — might be shared by the family, but the team’s future belonged to him.

“He knew he was going to pass away at that point, and we knew he was going to pass away. To have him tell me that,” Clark says, his voice trailing off. “On the one hand, you want to feel good about it. But you can’t.”

• • •

Clark Hunt shifted his primary focus from the family’s soccer ventures and non-sports business interests to the Chiefs. He began talking to anyone with an opinion, inside and outside the organization, about what they thought the Chiefs needed to be successful.

Some said the team needed change. Carl Peterson had been with the team 18 seasons when Lamar Hunt died, and he was the general manager, president and chief executive of an organization that had stalled, same as it had in the 1970s and ’80s. But Hunt waited.

“He’s someone who has a listen-to-talk ratio of probably 10 to 1,” Pash says.

Peterson had traded away draft picks and acquired big-name players, and he told insiders that it was in an effort to reach a Super Bowl before Lamar Hunt’s death, so that Hunt could hoist the AFC championship trophy that was named for him in 1984. During Peterson’s attempt at a playoff surge, from 2001 to 2006, Peterson drafted 35 players, and three of them — Larry Johnson, Jared Allen and Tamba Hali — reached a Pro Bowl.

The Chiefs went 4-12 in 2007, then 2-14 a year later. Fewer than two full seasons into his tenure as chairman, Clark Hunt presided over major change — the first of many high-profile moves that have come to paint him as a man unwilling to wait for success, even at the expense of the loyalty and affable nature his father was known for. Peterson resigned, officially, in late 2008. Personnel man Bill Kuharich and other executives followed Peterson — who spoke briefly to The Star but didn’t return a call seeking comment on Hunt — out the door. Two years later, longtime executive Denny Thum turned in his resignation, too.

What followed was an overhaul of his father’s franchise: Hunt hired Scott Pioli to be GM, Mark Donovan to succeed Thum as president, and many more to enact a team-wide shift into the 21st century. Last year, the Chiefs’ board of directors appointed Hunt as the team’s CEO. As he had done years ago with his friend Hutcheson, information was shared only on a need-to-know basis.

He had stepped off the path cut by his father, but even as he was shifting directions, he says, he reflected upon Lamar’s words: Remember the fans and do Arrowhead right. Last year, Hunt unveiled the “new” Arrowhead, with $375 million in renovations. In Hunt’s fourth season as chairman, the new Chiefs went 10-6 and won the AFC West.

“I want to win championships,” Hunt says when asked about his moves. “In pro sports, that’s really how we measure it.”

The organization’s new philosophy has rubbed some the wrong way, but there’s no denying that the team is more successful now than when Clark Hunt began running it. By August 2010, the Chiefs had, according to Forbes Magazine’s annual team valuation report, increased by $71 million in value and $49 million in annual revenue since 2006.

Hunt has earned a reputation as a no-nonsense owner, but in the past two years he also has been called chintzy, a guy who values dollars more than championships. Despite the increase in team value, the Chiefs have been near the bottom of NFL payroll since Peterson departed, and Pioli has yet to bring in a marquee free agent. Hunt says this is a product of having a young roster assembled primarily through the draft. Pioli has said Hunt has never put restrictions on his spending, and Hunt says Pioli has “a lot of latitude” to sign whomever would help the team.

Hunt says Pioli talks with him to clear most decisions, but adds that’s more a matter of Pioli’s choice than a requirement. He presents Pioli with a budget each year, but does so with the understanding that it can be flexible.

“I’ve always told him, ‘Look: If there’s something we need to do from a players standpoint that you think is really important, by all means, do it,’ ” Hunt says. “We’re not going to let the budget stop us from doing that. … I don’t know that we’ll be a high spender, but we’ll be no worse than average.”

Hunt says it’s not unusual for an owner to be called a miser, saying that no matter how he’s viewed now, that’s not how he’ll be remembered.

“The fans will see our spending on players go up,” he says, “and that issue will go away.”

• • •

It’s June in Minneapolis, and the labor discussions are at a standstill.

The issue of stadium credits — the percentage of money the owners save when a new stadium is built or renovated — has separated the two sides. Negotiations have stalled.

“The Minneapolis meeting,” Foxworth says, “was kind of the back-against-the-wall moment.”

Hunt has spent the past few days trying a new approach: Instead of negotiating only in meeting rooms, he begins pulling players aside for private discussions. Hunt and the NFL’s treasurer, Joe Siclare, discuss a plan in which owners will receive a 1.5 percent credit for stadium expansions. Hunt explains the complicated concepts in simple terms, Foxworth will say later, and that helps players to understand the owners’ proposal is not as one-sided as others have made it sound.

Goodell and Pash, the owners’ lead negotiator, notice that when Hunt speaks, players seem to respond. And, like his father, Hunt understands numbers. So after sunset, with another fruitless day coming to an end, two of the NFL’s most powerful men turn to the league’s youngest owner. They ask the attorneys and accountants to leave the room, and they appoint Hunt, who has little experience in labor discussions, to explain the owners’ proposal to the players’ representatives.

“An intimidating group,” Hunt says now.

His opening statement is laced with humor, and maybe for the first time on this day, the tension begins to dissolve. Players listen without suspicion, and Foxworth says things start to make sense.

“The one thing we got from him was that he’s honest and genuine, which goes a long way in negotiations,” Foxworth says. “He didn’t speak a whole lot, but when he spoke, we knew he had done his research and he wasn’t trying to … pull the wool over our eyes; he was trying to find a way to make this work for everybody.”

The minutes pass, and not long after, the players agree to the owners’ proposal for how stadium credits will be divided.

“He identified the problem,” Goodell says, “and he found a solution. And he sold it.”

“The brains of the operation from their side,” Foxworth says.

The sides emerge, having overcome one of the lockout’s major obstacles, and hopes are lifted that the season might begin on time.

“You could see from that meeting on,” Hunt says, “that we were on a path to getting a deal done.”

The man who sold it is no longer just Lamar’s kid, a legacy who sits in the back and says nothing; Hunt is someone worth listening to. Months later, Goodell will say he’s uncertain the season would’ve begun on time if not for Hunt’s ability not only to articulate the plan to players but also to convince them it was a good deal for both sides.

“A critical voice and role,” Goodell says, “in getting this agreement completed and getting us back to football.”

Weeks later, Goodell prepares to hold a news conference in Atlanta, where he’ll stand behind a lectern and announce that the owners have agreed on a proposal. It is July 21. Goodell asks Hunt to join him on stage. As the commissioner explains that the lockout’s finish line is in sight, Hunt stands a few feet away, in view of the cameras, just to Goodell’s left.

• • •

Hunt finishes his pregame conversation and drapes the brown jacket over his shoulders. It’s time to go be the face of the Chiefs again, and besides, there’s someone on the field he’d like to say hello to.

He says something about irony; how things sometimes happen in unusual ways. He says it’s interesting that his first leadership role with the Chiefs dealt with the stadium and that his first significant role with the league centered on the same issue.

“I sort of look back on that,” he says. “There’s a little bit of a parallel for me.”

There’s a parallel between Hunt and the Chiefs, too. As Hunt has risen to power, both within the organization and in the NFL, his team has returned to prominence. For the first time in years, the Chiefs are seen as one of the league’s young and improving clubs. Those who know Hunt say that he’s similar to his father, but he is perhaps more focused on results — on the field and off — than Lamar was, at least in his later years.

“His, I’ll call it, ingenuity and creative, competitive spirit — Clark clearly has that,” says Goodell, whose early years in the NFL were spent as an assistant to Lamar Hunt. “But Clark’s business sense and his ability to understand complex situations, particularly things that have very strong financial components — he is a very quick study.”

Hunt walks toward the room’s exit, back down that windowless corridor, and heads into the light. During the players’ warm-ups, he walks over to a Ravens defensive back. It’s Foxworth, who takes Hunt’s hand and hugs him; they smile and talk for a moment before Foxworth jogs away and rejoins his teammates.

“When we were yelling and cussing and fighting with each other,” Foxworth says a short time later, “I didn’t think I’d ever like those guys again. But we got to where we got. It wasn’t easy getting there, but when I saw Clark, kind of the first guy that I’ve seen since we got it done, a sense of relief and pride washed over me.”

No, Hunt might never accomplish all that his father did, but he did help to influence the future of the league his dad helped to form, and he says he’s proud that the schedule wasn’t interrupted.

“There were a lot of days,” he says, “where I’m sure people on both sides thought there’s no way that’s happening.”

He stands under the lights as the Chiefs run from here to there, football surrounding him the way it always has. Maybe someday, if all goes right, he’ll do something his father never did: lift the trophy with Lamar Hunt’s name on it.

“I haven’t set about a course of trying to accomplish more,” he says. “Just with the opportunities that I’ve been given, my approach is: Work hard and do my best and let the chips fall where they may.

“When he passed away, some folks pointed out that, boy, you’ve got some big shoes to fill. Really, the approach I’ve taken is to try to make my own tracks.” This article was written by Kent Babb and appeared in The Kansas City Star.

Obama Is President, but Football Is King - Ingles

2011-09-08T09:42:00.002-03:00

Like a coverage team racing downfield for a kickoff, here comes King Football. This day was always going to happen, come hell or high water or labor issues.

The opening game — Saints at Packers, the past two Super Bowl champions, Thursday night — was engraved in the minds of fans. Nothing could get in its way. Nothing.

The lockout of midsummer is long gone. The players got an extra day or two out of the brutal sun of training camp. These people, the players and the owners, generate too much money to shut down a sport over a percentage point here or there.

The seasonal return of the king even loomed over what one would like to think are more important issues, like a presidential talk. A week ago the White House tried to arrange a speech by President Obama about the pressing issue of the day, jobs and the economy, but Representative John A. Boehner, the speaker of the House, balked because of the Republican candidates’ debate that night.

All of a sudden, this became more than party politics and good manners and jockeying for 2012. When the president’s speech was moved to Thursday, the White House found the need to address the massive shadow of King Football.

“I can assure all you football fans that he will be completed before kickoff,” the White House spokesman, Jay Carney, said Thursday.

Obama is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. Eastern, and the Saints-Packers game is set for 8:30 p.m. But that was not enough.

For the people out there who fret that Obama is not a football-loving manly man real American, Carney reassured the multitudes that he had the same priorities as everybody else in this great land of ours.

“It means he will have the opportunity to watch the game, like millions of other Americans,” Carney said.

Notice the press secretary said “opportunity.” Personally, I’d like to think the president will rush home, shuck the business suit, get into his jeans, and read a bedtime story to his daughters rather than watch large people give each other concussions. And later maybe he could slip into the gym to shoot baskets to work off the brutal load of stress.

Even the reassurance that Obama has the right priorities was not enough. Everybody in petulant America wants the man to do more, something else, better, right now, get mad, get even, solve the problem with a catchphrase or a snap of his fingers. But at the same time, some football fans on the Web have been brooding that the speech on jobs will somehow force television to skimp on pregame videos of brain-rattling tackles from last season.

Fear not. The show will go on, from now until the Super Bowl. The N.F.L. has a 10-year labor contract. The average franchise is worth $1.022 billion, according to Forbes. All is right with the world, despite rising medical evidence that a frightening proportion of players are developing dementia and dying young, from brain damage. The N.F.L. tinkers with the rules, while King Football rumbles onward.

The fans have the right to anticipate the new season, with dramas and loyalties varying from city to city. The N.F.L., with its national network contracts, has the fabulous karma of a tiny city in northern Wisconsin winning the Super Bowl. There is nothing comparable in any other American team sport. The survival of Green Bay is as much fun to ponder as a muddy game on the tube. Los Angeles still does not have a football team. (Or a baseball team, some would say.) The Colts may have to do without Peyton Manning. Like him or loathe him, Michael Vick has made one of the great comebacks in American sport.

And in New York, we get two plots from two very different teams.

The Giants, with a huge swath of fans in the region, have won one Super Bowl with Tom Coughlin and stuck with him through some disappointing seasons. With a third generation of Maras and a second generation of Tisches, the Giants take the long view.

The Jets have forced New Yorkers to drop the stereotype of the goofy, vaguely cursed franchise that, between sporadic moments of glory, would find a way to self-destruct. In the era of Woody Johnson, Mike Tannenbaum and Rex Ryan, the Jets have become, dare one say this, consistent.

Ryan ensures they will always play with swagger, and sometimes act in bad taste, but give them their due, they back it up, with a locker full of characters allowed to be themselves. In the first two seasons of Ryan and Mark Sanchez, the Jets have a 20-12 record and have played in two conference championship games.

All over this football-loving nation, a new season begins Thursday night. The real world has given its solemn promise not to intrude. (source New York Times)

Super Bowl winner Aaron Rodgers calls out Mark Sanchez - Ingles

2011-09-08T09:41:00.001-03:00

Sanchez's GQ cover and accompanying photo spread might win him fans in the fashion world but not in the NFL.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, speaking on his weekly radio show on ESPN Milwaukee, called the New York Jets signal-caller's photo spread in September's issue "embarrassing."

"Look at this, that's embarrassing," Rodgers said. "Page 94 of this GQ thing here, that's terrible."

That would be the page where Sanchez is pictured wearing white pants and a black tank top.

When asked why he didn't have a cover shoot after winning the Super Bowl, Rodgers responded: "That's not really my style. I like my anonymity, I like my privacy. I like being able to be the quarterback during the week, and in the offseason be able to do what I want to do and not be in the public eye."

And that's much easier to accomplish in Green Bay than New York. (source NFL.com)

It's no fantasy that the NFL is #1 - Ingles

2011-09-08T09:34:00.001-03:00

Arian Foster says I am sick.

And he didn't even go to UCLA.

He's a very good football player, so of course he didn't go to UCLA.

He plays for the Houston Texans, and on this day — the biggest, most exciting of the year — he's a problem.

Today is fantasy football draft day in the SFL, and Foster is talking about his feelings being hurt, as if anyone in the SFL gives a hoot.

It's his hamstring that matters, a whole season hanging in the balance. So is he still worthy of being the first, second or third back taken?

And while I'm thinking about it, I know everyone is upset about this new kickoff rule in the NFL, but what the league really needs to do is address injuries. If a player can't say for sure he's ready to go on Friday, then in the best interests of fantasy owners everywhere it's quite simple — he can't play.

There is just too much up in the air when it comes to NFL injuries. Such uncertainly forces you to watch Sunday TV pregame shows, and all the Mickey Mouse banter that comes with it.

Do you know what it's like to sit there and watch Fox or CBS do some kind of feature on some deep snapper who has dedicated his life to helping the unfortunate in some faraway country? Just tell me if Foster is going to start.

A few weeks back Foster tweeted: "4 those sincerely concerned, I'm doing ok & plan 2 B back by opening day. 4 those worried abt your fantasy team, u ppl are sick.''

How out of touch can athletes be? Anyone who isn't worried about their fantasy football team is doomed to finish last, be mocked by other league owners and appear stupid to family members, friends and business associates.

Why do you think the NFL is so popular?

If history repeats, every week for the next three months, the No. 1-rated TV show in Los Angeles will be a NFL game.

Do you think that's because there are still a lot of Rams and Raiders fans remaining in town? They weren't here when the Raiders and the Rams were here.

(By the way, everyone has Sam Bradford ranked higher than Jason Campbell, although I think Campbell is worth the gamble.)

When a Lakers game goes up against an NFL game on TV in Los Angeles, the NFL wins. It's a fact because they certainly aren't going to run a crawl across the bottom of the TV screen on a Lakers game letting everyone know that Peyton Hillis was good for another six points.

Let's face it, next to Foster's ability to hold up, is there a more compelling question right now in all of our lives than what to do with Peyton Manning today?

What are these officials in Indianapolis thinking, seeking second opinions on his neck or whatever when the draft is set to begin in four hours? All this business should have been taken care of a week before the season begins when most folks are doing their drafting.

I can only hope my fellow owners noticed Manning doing a Best Buy commercial Monday and think him just fine.

Make a mistake on Manning, and you might just find yourself having to learn the name of Colt McCoy's backup because someone else has already drafted Kerry Collins, who is replacing Manning. If someone does draft Collins, I can only hope he is in our league.

If this is too complicated for you, you are missing out on life because you obviously have no interest in fantasy football.

I would think anyone who went to school at UCLA would love the chance to fantasize about a winning football team.

What kind of person goes through life without owning a fantasy football team? We already know there are some people who have no interest in sports, which makes them boring, their wives boring, and their kids uninteresting as well. And no one has anything to say to them at work.

You don't know excitement until Earl Bennett scores a touchdown after you have made the move to bench Danny Amendola in favor of playing Bennett. For some people, that's as smart as they will ever feel.

For those who live in Buffalo, Cincinnati, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Jacksonville, Washington, Seattle, San Francisco and Miami, sure, they have football teams, but they would probably tell you their fantasy teams are better.

We get the Chargers next season, but my plan is to have Philip Rivers lead my team this season. I've already spoken to him, reminding him any time he gets near the goal line to throw the ball rather than hand it off.

For those still looking to join a league, if you see a team owner walking around wearing a Broncos jersey with Tim Tebow's name on the back, that's a league for you.

If someone tells you they hope Brett Favre is still available when it's their turn to pick, don't ruin their day — especially after they have made yours.

If you know someone who went to UCLA and they think it's their duty to pick anyone who was a Bruin, holy Cade McNown, check to see if I can join as well.

As for those who dismiss all this as nonsense, or too frivolous, there is nothing that makes a week go faster at this time of year — month after month — than fantasy football.

There are the week's final results on Monday, injury reports on Tuesday, final workouts on Friday and then the clowns performing on Sunday's pregame shows. Every game is also meaningful, Cincinnati versus Cleveland is a nail biter if Greg Little was your draft-day sleeper.

Who? I'll see if we can find a spot for you in our league. This article was written by T.J. Simers and appeared in The Los Angeles Times.

Positive signs suggest St.Louis can keep the Rams - Ingles

2011-09-08T09:32:00.001-03:00

What with all the depressing business of disintegrating pennant chases and collapsing college football conferences that have preoccupied us lately, it's been a little hard to focus in on the more upbeat aspects of sports business in St. Louis, like the start of a new NFL season that for a change is charged with a lot more hope than despair.

It's been a while since there was this positive a buzz about the Rams to start the regular season. As an unrepentant football wise guy and the Notorious Man of the People, I try to be the voice of professional restraint. I have witnessed enough bad football around here to come armed with a heavy dose of cynicism. But for weeks I have been watching the Rams and I see no reason to be cynical anymore.

The front end of their schedule isn't as overwhelming as everyone has been predicting. The Rams are going to win the NFC West. ... They're going to win 10 games. ... Sam Bradford is going to take a giant leap toward becoming a franchise quarterback and the Rams' defense will be the unsung heroes of this season. ... And, oh yeah, I think the Rams are going to stay in St. Louis for a long time.

Oooooh, did I slip that one right past you?

We'll have plenty of time to talk about why the Rams should be favored to win their less-than-impressive division. But for now, let's dwell on the positive signs that make me feel a lot less nervous about the prospect of Rams owner Stan Kroenke taking his franchise to Los Angeles when the stadium lease here expires in a few years. I have been the leading cynic on the franchise relocation-Edward Jones Dome-lease situation since Kroenke assumed majority ownership several months ago. I have been worried that he is too shrewd as a businessman to cut a break for the folks who are handling the negotiations to keep the Rams in St. Louis.

The stadium lease is a lopsided piece of negotiating that could detonate in St. Louis' face at any time. But lately I have been hearing things that make me feel like the chances of the Rams taking up permanent residence here in St. Louis are far more promising than I would have ever expected.

If you connect the dots, the signs point to the city and state working out a deal that will keep Kroenke satisfied even if there is no way we can ever give him a stadium that belongs in the upper tier of NFL stadiums. This week, two seemingly unrelated events happened that could be positive signs.

On Monday, it was announced in the state capital that one of the bills to be discussed in the Missouri legislature is a plan that would allow state legislators to pass a law that would provide incentives to lure amateur sports events such as the NCAA Final Four, Olympic trials and youth soccer tournaments to the state.

This is one of the first long-awaited outward signs that state lawmakers finally get it. They have been falling behind a lot of other cities and states in the business of luring major sporting events to the state. This is something that I have been aching to see happen in St. Louis forever, a move to follow the same sort of civic plan that Indianapolis has used so successfully to energize its local economy and downtown environment.

Downtown Indy has become vital by using sports as an industry. Wouldn't it be great if St. Louis could become a destination place for major sporting events like the Final Four on a consistent basis? Coming up with incentives to lure sporting events is a great idea. The Edward Jones Dome and downtown St. Louis currently are not considered by the NCAA to be Final Four worthy. For many reasons, we're considered a regional finals site at best.

In several discussions with very informed sources within the NCAA, one of the biggest complaints they had about St. Louis as a potential Final Four site was the city's unwillingness to match other cities' enticing financial packages. They also mentioned the amenities at the Dome and the lack of prime entertainment districts in proximity to the Dome as big problems that put St. Louis behind cities like Dallas, San Antonio, Indy and Houston. But with a governor who understands the potential for sports as an industry for our city and state, things could begin to change and make St. Louis a more attractive place. And anything that makes the Dome more attractive for the NCAA will benefit the Rams.

As they approach their season opener Sunday — and with all the talk coming out of Los Angeles about the city getting final approval on major football stadium projects to lure an NFL team back to LA — there is now reason to believe that the local and state government will act wisely in negotiations to keep Kroenke from pulling up stakes.

Several informed sources have said that at no point in any discussions with local officials concerning the dome lease has Kroenke ever brought up relocating the franchise back to LA.

While there is no chance any politician in his right or wrong mind on the state or local level will attempt to approve a new stadium for the Rams, there is some very smart talk about providing Kroenke with something that could be just as good to a billionaire real estate developer: land.

Give a real estate developer land and let him determine what he wants to do with it. While the conventional wisdom has always been that the best piece of property to offer Kroenke would be the vacant Chrysler factory off Interstate 44 in Fenton, a much smarter play being discussed involves real estate development right downtown adjacent to the Dome.

Remember the excitement a few years ago about a proposed Bottle District redevelopment just a block north of the Edward Jones Dome? Well, it still hasn't taken off, so there are conversations floating around about the potential for Kroenke to get a hold of that Bottle District development. The land is directly across the street from the Dome, and imagine what Kroenke could do if he could get that valuable piece of property.

If you give a shrewd developer like Kroenke a valuable plot of prime downtown real estate, I guarantee he won't use it for a cruddy softball field that no one ever plays on. This article was written by Bryan Burwell and appeared in The St.Louis Post-Dispatch.

Are we ready for football - Ingles

2011-09-08T09:22:00.001-03:00

For NFL fans who don’t bleed green or blue at this time of year, there are places to get football news in addition to the award-winning pages of the New York Post. With Thursday’s season opener between the New Orleans and Green Bay fast approaching, here’s a look at the top four.

Good, ol’ trusty Sports Illustrated comes through with an NFL preview we can all understand, and still give the biggest football geeks something to chew on. Yes, there’s a team-by-team catalog, but it’s reader-friendly. Also, a feature on football defenses was written so well, grandma would be interested in the evolution from simple 3-4 and 4-3 formations to the gridiron chaos practiced today. The magazine also delves into the art of tackling, an important topic as the league struggles to reduce the number of on-field concussions

ESPN has gone crazy over Michael Vick and has dedicated its September issue to the NFL star quarterback, whose brush with the law over dogfighting has made him one of the most well-known names in sports, even among folks who can’t tell a football from a soccer ball. The issue looks at Vick through multiple lenses, including the prickly question, what if Vick were white? We also liked the piece on Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu, which tracks the safety’s colorful and “life-altering” trip to his ancestral American Samoa homeland.

Sporting News ducks cover treatment of the sports’ big story, and instead settles on pages of coverage on Milwaukee Brewers All-Star Prince Fielder who wants to tack on a championship ring to his resume. Fielder seems to shrug off nervousness about his pending status as a free agent. The mag is clearly geared toward sports fanatics, so only pick it up if you are an addict. Otherwise you probably will feel like you’re reading Greek. For example, in touting the college football previews, the mag calls the Big Ten “the poster child for change in college football.” Huh?

Are you kidding? Lindy’s Sports Magazine claims that Steve Young was a better quarterback than Joe Montana. Sure, both were 49er legends, but Montana is arguably the best ever, period. That big mistake in Lindy’s 25th annual Pro Football preview is enough to make you not read on. If it wasn’t enough, than the fact that the preview, published once a year, came out before the labor dispute ended is enough to skip this edition. The magazine is made for hardcore football fans with complete looks at every teams’ rosters taking up most of the space. It reads like an almanac, but it’s out-of-date now that the strike ended. At least there are some cheerleader photos to break up the monotony.

In the wake of 9/11, the air was rife with pleas that the nation not fall prey to an era of petty partisan squabbling. This week’s New Yorker makes a persuasive case that those pleas have largely been ignored. When US servicemen returned from World War II, they were told to “Marry your sweetheart, have those kids, get that job,” notes veteran Larry Calloway. Now, former Navy SEAL Chris Berman is trying to start a company that hires veterans to retool Humvees that will be brought home from the wars. But shamefully, “The government keeps putting off the bidding,” partly because of a big Humvee maker’s clout with Washington lobbyists.

Newsweek throws its big guns at a memorial 9/11 issue. In addition to a piece by Andrew Sullivan, who admits he was still in bed when the planes crashed, there’s an exclusive about how internal efforts to warn FBI brass about a possible terrorist attack on the World Trade Center were “thwarted by a group of arrogant, slow-moving supervisors at FBI headquarters.” And then, of course, there’s ... wait ... where’s Tina Brown? You mean the editor is still on vacation, after skipping out on half the summer already? We must admit we’re a little concerned.

If you’re like us, you just can’t get enough of that mermaid-shaped couch discovered by Libyan rebel fighters at the sumptuous villa of Khadafy’s daughter Aisha. Time obliges us with a two-page spread of it, with the mermaid looking somewhat indignant as a rebel soldier presses the sole of his tennis shoe against the back of her golden head. Elsewhere, unfortunately, we get the usual workmanlike, sleep-inducing takes on the news (“Facing a tough re-election battle, the president maps out an attack against the GOP”). The diet tips from Dr. Oz were at least somewhat useful. (source New York Post)

Chatting with Bob Kraft - Ingles

2011-09-08T09:21:00.000-03:00

Robert Kraft is about to embark upon an NFL season like no other.

After helping to save the game by leaving the bedside of his wife, Myra, who was battling cancer, to be a central figure in negotiations to forge a new collective bargaining agreement, Kraft will no longer have his “sweetheart’’ by his side in their box at Gillette Stadium.

Myra Kraft died June 20 at home and Robert is still dealing with the loss, but he continues to forge on into the family’s businesses, including the Patriots. He knows he really doesn’t have another choice.

“I’m trying to carry my life on, that’s what she would want me to do,’’ he said yesterday in his office, where he is surrounded by pictures of his wife.

To that end, Kraft agreed to sit down with the Globe to discuss a wide range of topics.

Here is part of that conversation:

Q. The Jets have gone to the AFC Championship game in Rex Ryan’s first two seasons, and they’ve done it with bravado and outlasted your team in the postseason. Does that irritate you at all?

A. Well, I don’t think of it as the Jets have done so well. I think of it as when we bought the team, there had been one playoff game in 34 years, which we lost to Houston . In the next 17 years, we’ve had 13 home playoff games and we won the first 11, and we’ve lost the last two. So it’s time to reverse the trend. I think Rex Ryan has done a heck of a job. Say what you want, he’s taken his team to the championship game two years in a row. If I were a Jets fan, I would really like that.

Part of it is, you say, we did what we did in the regular season and they come back, sort of almost like we did in the ’01 season when we lost to the Rams in the old Foxboro Stadium, and I think teams have a way of learning. And with Baltimore and the Jets, we beat them each in the regular season and they came back.

Q. But in professional sports, it’s all about what have you done for me lately.

A. I’m very disappointed, believe me, after having the best regular-season record of any team in the NFL and then opening up at home and having a bye week and losing? That wasn’t the game plan.

Q. What do you think the reaction would be if the Patriots lost another home game to start the playoffs?

A. Well, first of all, I’d be happy for us to make the playoffs. That’s our objective every year at the start of the season. A lot of things can happen over the next 17 weeks, that’s one thing I’ve learned. Hopefully we have a D-line this year that doesn’t allow that to happen.

Q. Speaking of that line and one of your new acquisitions, forgetting the on-field incidents, Albert Haynesworth has been involved with several off-field incidents: accused of running someone off the road, going more than 100 miles per hour in a 70 zone; indicted on two charges after an accident that leaves another driver partially paralyzed; accused of punching a man after a traffic altercation; and being indicted on sexual assault charges. When you hear those things, what goes through your mind?

A. Before we bring in any high-profile free agent, I have a chance to meet them. We do our own research and meet them and see how we find them. I mean, the time I’ve spent with Albert and seen him, it’s a lot different than what I’ve heard about and read about. And independent research that we’ve done with people who know him pretty well, and since he’s been here and the conversations I’ve had, I don’t see that side of him.

So in our mind he has a clean slate being here, and what he does here and how he behaves, he understands what’s important to this organization off the field and how we do things and how we conduct things. I haven’t seen anything that would lead me to believe that he won’t fit in. I hope he makes good contributions on the field. He’s a very likeable fellow. I had the image of the NFL Network with that mean mug. He’s intelligent, well-spoken, and likable.

Q. But those incidents have to give you pause.

A. Sure. He didn’t come here for the money, let me say it like that. He’s earned enough money; I don’t think he has to do anything the rest of his life. But I think he really came and convinced us that he wants to play, wants to win, and he wants to be a good citizen. So, we’ll give him a shot. But anyone who is way out of line won’t be here in the long term.

Q. Wes Welker is entering the final year of his contract as a valued member of this team. Would you say you’re optimistic that there might be a new deal coming with him at some point?

A. First of all, anyone who is my height or less [laughing] is someone I have great admiration and love for. He’s just a great team guy and has been great. I hope we’re smart enough, on both sides, to find a way to continue to have him here.

Q. As to your involvement in the CBA negotiations, don’t you think it’s a bit of a sad comment about the greed involved by people on both sides that you, with your wife sick at home, felt obligated to be there and help forge the deal? Weren’t there times where you thought, ‘Why do I have to do this? Why are these people so messed up that they can’t figure this out without me having to leave my wife’s hospital bed?’

A. First of all, I think the group of people did do a good thing. I spent 95 percent of my time for 4 1/2 months [with Myra ]. In some ways, it got me out because I was really . . . I’ve never been through something that. But there were times I was sitting and listening to stuff and I did say, “This is ridiculous. I’m moving on.’’ But I went home a lot. I used to fly back.

Q. What was your reaction, while you were dealing with your wife’s passing, when the players didn’t hold a vote after the owners approved the deal?

A. I knew that we had done a good deal and a fair deal. And anyone who was doing their homework would have said, “Wow, we have to close this and do business and not miss any games.’’

Q. Now that she’s been gone and you’ve had a lot of time to think, are there any moments where you regret leaving her to take part in the talks?

A. No. Because I always . . . got her permission. She would always think maybe I was a little better than I really am. She thought I could do anything so she always would put me on challenges, and we had a great partnership, and she always knew how important this was. Like I said, I was with her night and day for 4 1/2 months except for the time at this. I think that she would be very happy - and I actually had a chance to tell her, even though she passed before - that a deal would be done. And that made her happy. Because we had planned on her enjoying the season.

Q. To conclude, everyone wants to know, how are you doing these days?

A. I had a great life partner who blessed me with four great sons and eight grandchildren, and they’ve been the love of my life . . . I was very blessed to have something and I hope more people have what Myra and I had because it would make people happier and a better world. So, it’s just learning to carry on. It’s very hard when you had someone special. We were 19 and 20 when we met. She proposed on the first date. We were together . . . obviously this isn’t easy, but I’m getting through it with the strength of our family. (source Boston Globe)

The Goodell years - Ingles

2011-09-08T09:19:00.002-03:00

In Oakland, Terrelle Pryor prepares to begin a five-game suspension for violating N.C.A.A. rules. In Tampa and Nashville, Aqib Talib and Kenny Britt just learned that they will not join Pryor on the sideline for violating the N.F.L.’s personal conduct policy during the lockout. And in New York on Thursday, a week before the league kicks off a wildly anticipated season, Commissioner Roger Goodell will mark his fifth anniversary in the job.

That it will come at a time when Goodell is making high-profile — and highly controversial — decisions seems fitting.

The N.F.L. has record-setting television ratings and rising revenues, and Goodell has put his fingerprints, as much as any of his predecessors, all over the game. Codes of conduct for players, coaches and even fans. Changes in rules that govern postseason overtime, kickoffs and the handling of concussions.

His time has been studded with remarkable accomplishments, most recently the completion of a collective bargaining agreement that brought labor peace, and almost certainly extraordinary prosperity, to the league for the next decade.

But his tenure has also included periods of intense criticism, much of it from players, as Goodell has used the blurry boundaries of the commissioner’s powers to shape everything from off-field behavior to on-field tackles.

“He’s done some things that have angered everybody, but that’s part of life,” said Dan Rooney, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ chairman, who headed the search committee that selected Goodell as commissioner. Rooney is now the ambassador to Ireland.

“If you’re doing things, you get people angry,” Rooney said. “Definitely owners, too. Present company included.”

Goodell declined to be interviewed for this article. But in his presentation to team owners in August 2006, he gave broad indications of how he would lead the league, clues to his vision for active leadership to sculpture not just how the N.F.L. runs, but also how it appears to outsiders.

“Change before you’re forced to change,” he said. “I believe you have to address issues directly; look around the corners; challenge assumptions; and don’t assume you know the answers.”

Later, he said: “You have an incredibly strong brand — the N.F.L. shield and the 32 individual club brands — with a massive audience. Companies will exploit this and try to redefine the N.F.L. image to their own advantage. We know we are held to higher standards and have to meet those standards on a consistent basis.”

Enhancing and expanding the N.F.L.’s reach has been a defining characteristic of Goodell’s tenure. The N.F.L. has slowly colonized much of the sports calendar, elevating the late-winter scouting combine into more must-see television, pushing the start of the college draft into prime time and, in a switch that met with some resistance from within the N.F.L., flooding fans with the information they wanted. He has allowed replays of action — some controversial, some that might make coaches look bad — to be shown on stadium big screens, overriding objections from some coaches.

Goodell started his N.F.L. career in public relations, but he maintains a low profile. He is not moved by the trappings of his job — the N.F.L. will move to cheaper, less plush office space soon — but cares deeply about the game and for players, said several people who have worked with him.

That makes particularly striking how Goodell has become a lightning rod, especially in the last two years, for those unhappy with his handling of player conduct and player safety issues.

His detractors, and sometimes his supporters, question whether he is inconsistent in applying rules and whether he overreaches in using his vast authority.

How, they wonder, can Pryor be disciplined for actions he committed in college? Why wasn’t Seattle Coach Pete Carroll similarly disciplined? Why was Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suspended last year, even though he was never charged with a crime after allegations of inappropriate behavior with women? Why was Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison fined thousands of dollars for what the league deemed to be improper hits to the head, but an N.F.L. Web site briefly sold pictures of one of the hits before it was removed? How can players locked out by the league this off-season be considered for discipline?

Goodell’s reply, in almost every case, has been a variation on a theme: he is doing what he thinks is in the best interests of the game.

But many players, and some fans, have been dismayed by what they consider a heavy-handed, and perhaps cynical, approach to managing the game.

“From the few times we’ve spent together, the commissioner actually seems like a pretty solid guy,” Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita, who is active in the players’ union, wrote in an e-mail. “I don’t doubt that the commissioner has the best interests of the game in mind. But at what cost?

“I feel like the league office spends so much time highlighting the handful of bad things that happen in this league, rather than glorifying all the great things people are doing every single day. I feel like so much time and effort is poured into ‘protecting the shield’ and ‘cleaning up our game’ that we’ve lost sight of what’s good about our league.

“Players continue to be wary of the commissioner’s intentions because they feel like the league office is littered with hypocrisy. My hope was that player cynicism toward Goodell would have been at least partly resolved with the new C.B.A., but I’m afraid it might still take some time. Players are concerned about the abuse of power and how far all this might go. These are the kinds of things players think about, and it’s a shame it has to be that way.”

People on the outside view Goodell differently. Andrew Zimbalist, a Smith College sports economist who wrote a book about Bud Selig, the Major League Baseball commissioner, takes issue with Goodell’s handling of the Pryor suspension — he calls it “mind-boggling and fatuous” — but otherwise praises the positions Goodell has taken.

“He introduced a player conduct rule and he has penalized players who have violated it, that’s positive, although many players are angry about it,” Zimbalist said. “But that’s O.K. That’s leadership, and it’s basically a sound policy.

“He’s made some important strides on safety, and that’s not an easy thing to deliver. Good for him that he’s able to do something not many leaders can do — put out a policy and even though it’s unpopular, stick to it.”

It is hard to imagine that Goodell will complete anything more important than the new labor deal — which included increases in the portion of revenue owners will receive — no matter how long he remains in the job. But large challenges remain. There are television contracts to be renewed in the next few years, and there will undoubtedly be more player conduct issues.

Nothing, though, figures to consume Goodell more than how to make going to games attractive for fans who might rather stay home and watch them on television.

The fan behavior policy is one step in that direction, but as ticket prices rise and technology makes staying home appealing, this promises to test Goodell’s vow to change before the N.F.L. is forced to change.

“That is a huge challenge and it’s vital because if the stadium simply becomes a stage, the game will have lost a vital element,” said Marc Ganis, a sports consultant in Chicago who has worked with teams and the league. “I believe this is the next great issue — how to make games important to people when they can sit in their living room? It’s a multiyear major challenge.”

For the future of the N.F.L., it might make Goodell’s next five years even more important than the first five. (source New York Times)

NOTICIAS Y NOTAS DE LA NFC - SEMANA 1

2011-09-07T18:08:00.011-03:00

LOS MARISCALES MVP DEL SUPER BOWL SE ENCUENTRAN EN LA NOCHE DEL JUEVES DE APERTURA DE TEMPORADA

Todos los ojos estarán puestos en dos de los mejores mariscales de campo de la NFL –el de New Orleans DREW BREES y el de Green Bay AARON RODGERS– cuando la temporada 2011 inicie el jueves en la noche en horario central (NBC, 8:30 PM, hora de New York) y los campeones defensores del Super Bowl, los Packers, reciban a ganadores del Super Bowl XLIV, los Saints.

El juego ostenta a los dos Jugadores Más Valiosos (MVP) de los últimos Super Bowls. Brees fue nombrado MVP del Super Bowl XLIV en el triunfo de New Orleans 31-17 y Rodgers se llevó a casa los honores el año pasado en la victoria de Green Bay 31-25 en el Super Bowl XLV.

Este duelo marca la quinta vez en la historia de la NFL –y primera desde 1993– que mariscales de campo MVP del Super Bowl titularizan uno contra el otro en el Fin de Semana de Apertura:

15 de septiembre 15 de 1974
Len Dawson (Kansas City)
Joe Namath (New York Jets)

12 de septiembre 12 de 1982
Joe Montana (San Francisco)
Jim Plunkett (Los Angeles Raiders)

5 de septiembre 5 de 1988
Phil Simms (New York Giants)
Doug Williams (Washington)

6 de septiembre 6 de 1993
Troy Aikman (Dallas)
Mark Rypien (Washington)

8 de septiembre de 2011
Drew Brees (New Orleans)
Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay)

Los mariscales de campo a lo largo y ancho de la liga se encuentran a sí mismos en el foco cuando la NFL regresa al football americano, todos esperando que sus equipos alcancen el Super Bowl XLVI el 5 de febrero en el Lucas Oil Stadium de Indianapolis.

Un vistazo equipo por equipo de los mariscales de campo titulares proyectados en la NFC para el Fin de Semana de Apertura de Temporada:

ARIZONA
KEVIN KOLB realizará su debut con los Cardinals en el Fin de Semana de Apertura después de que Arizona lo adquiriera en un traspaso con Philadelphia. Seleccionado en segunda vuelta (Nº 36 total) por los Eagles en 2007, Kolb realizó siete titularidades en su carrera con Philadelphia. Es el único mariscal de campo en la historia de la NFL en lanzar al menos 300 yardas en cada de sus primeras dos titularidades y fue nominado Jugador Ofensivo de la Semana de la NFC dos veces (Semana 3, 2009 y Semana 6, 2010). Kolb tiene tres juegos de 300 yardas pasando, incluyendo un pico de carrera de 391 yardas en la Semana 2 de 2009.

ATLANTA
El mariscal de campo de cuarto año MATT RYAN fue seleccionado a su primer Pro Bowl el año pasado y encabezó a los Falcons a una marca de 13-3, la mejor de la NFC. Los 33 triunfos en su carrera están igualados con el miembro del Salón de la Fama DAN MARINO en mayor cantidad de victorias logradas por un mariscal de campo titular en sus primeras tres temporadas desde 1970. En 2010, Ryan estableció marcas de franquicia con 357 pases completos y 571 pases intentados, y lanzó 3,705 yardas, un pico de carrera, 28 anotaciones y registró un índice de pasador de de 91.0. Tiene registro de 20-2 en casa, incluyendo marca de 7-1 la temporada pasada.

CAROLINA
El novato CAM NEWTON realizará su debut en la NFL en el Fin de Semana de Apertura. Ganador del Trofeo Heisman en 2010 fue seleccionado Nº 1 total por los Panthers en el Sorteo Universitario de la NFL 2011. El año pasado, Newton estableció una marca de la SEC con 4,327 yardas de ofensiva total (2,854 por aire, 1,473 por tierra) y se convirtió en el primer jugador en la historia de la conferencia con al menos 2,000 yardas pasando y 1,000 yardas acarreando en una temporada. Lanzó 30 pases anotadores, una marca de la SEC y acarreó 20 anotaciones.

CHICAGO
El veterano de sexto año JAY CUTLER realizará su tercera titularidad en Fin de Semana de Apertura para los Bears. El año pasado, Cutler encabezó a su equipo al título de la NFC Norte y a una aparición en el Juego de Campeonato de la NFC. Lanzó 3,274 yardas –el tercer total más alto en la historia del equipo– y es el único mariscal de campo de los Bears en lanzar al menos 3,000 yardas en temporadas consecutivas (3,666 en 2009). Cutler tuvo 23 pases anotadores en 2010 y se unió al miembro del Salón de la Fama SID LUCKMAN como los únicos mariscales en la historia de la franquicia con múltiples temporadas con al menos 20 pases anotadores (27 en 2009).

DALLAS
El veterano de noveno año TONY ROMO titularizará como mariscal de campo para los Cowboys y tiene una marca de 39-22 (.639) en su carrera como titular del equipo. Ingresa a la temporada con una racha activa de 18 juegos consecutivos con un pase anotador, la más larga en la historia de la franquicia. En su carrera, Romo completó 1,326 de 2,070 pases (64.1 por ciento) para 16,650 yardas con 118 anotaciones y 62 intercepciones, para un índice de pasador de 95.5, el más alto en los anales del equipo.

DETROIT
MATTHEW STAFFORD, la selección Nº 1 total en el Sorteo 2009 de la NFL, titularizará en el Fin de Semana de Apertura por tercera temporada consecutiva. En sus primeras dos temporadas, Stafford titularizó 13 juegos y lanzó 2,802 yardas y 19 anotaciones. Es el único mariscal de campo en la historia de la franquicia en lanzar al menos cuatro pases anotadores en un juego dos veces en sus primeros dos años. Stafford tuvo cinco pases anotadores en la Semana 11 de 2009, un pico de carrera, y tuvo una actuación de cuatro pases anotadores el año pasado en la Semana 8.

GREEN BAY
AARON RODGERS, el Jugador Más Valioso (MVP) del Super Bowl XLV, busca continuar su juego destacable para los campeones defensores. El año pasado, encabezó la NFC con un índice de pasador de 101.2 y es el único mariscal de campo en la historia de la franquicia en registrar un índice de 100.0+ en temporada consecutivas (103.2 en 2009). Lanzó 3,922 yardas en 2010 y sus 12,394 yardas desde haberse convertido en titular en 2008 son las segundas mayores cantidades por un mariscal de campo en sus primeros tres años como titular (KURT WARNER, 12,612). El índice de pasador de Rodgers en su carrera, de 98.4, es el más alto en la historia de la NFL (mínimo de 1,500 pases intentados).

MINNESOTA
El mariscal de campo seis veces seleccionado al Pro Bowl DONOVAN MC NABB realizará su debut con los Vikings en el Fin de Semana de Apertura. El veterano de 13 años tiene una marca en su carrera de 97-57-1 (.629) como mariscal de campo titular y guió a sus equipos a cinco Juegos de Campeonato de la NFC y a un Super Bowl (XXXIX con Philadelphia). El año pasado, con Washington, McNabb lanzó 3,377 yardas, la octava campaña de su carrera con 3,000 yardas y la cuarta en línea. Su porcentaje de intercepciones, de 2.20 (5,218 pases intentados, 115 intercepciones), es la cuarta mejor marca en la historia de la NFL (mínimo de 1,500 pases intentados).

NEW ORLEANS
El mariscal de campo de calibre de Pro Bowl DREW BREES encabezó la NFL el año pasado con un porcentaje de pases completos de 68.1 y encabezó la NFC en yardas (4,620), anotaciones (33), pases completos (448) y pases intentados (658). Desde que se sumó a los Saints en 2006, sus 22,918 yardas pasando es la mayor cantidad por un mariscal de campo en cualquier lapso de cinco años en la historia de la NFL. Lanzó al menos 4,000 yardas en cada un o de los últimos cinco años –los cinco mejores totales en yardas pasando en los anales del club– y es uno de apenas dos mariscales en la historia de la NFL (PEYTON MANNING) con al menos cinco campañas consecutivas con 4,000 yardas. Los 448 pases completos de Brees marcaron su tercera temporada superando la barrera de los 400, una marca de liga.

NEW YORK GIANTS
Ingresando a su temporada, ELI MANNING titularizó 103 juegos consecutivos como mariscal, una marca de equipo. Lanzó 4,002 yardas el año pasado y es el único mariscal de campo en la historia de la franquicia con temporadas consecutivas de 4,000 yardas (4,021 en 2009). Manning, que lanzó 31 anotaciones en 2010, un pico de carrera, es el único miembro de los Giants en lanzar al menos 3,000 yardas y 20 anotaciones en seis temporadas en línea. Se ubica segundo en los anales del club con 1,932 pases completos, 3,332 pases intentados y 22,646 yardas. Esta será la séptima titularidad consecutiva en Fin de Semana de Apertura para Manning.

PHILADELPHIA
La temporada pasada, MICHAEL VICK se ganó el honor de ser elegido como Jugador Regreso del Año por AP al encabezar a los Eagles a un título de la NFC Este. Seleccionado para titularizar como mariscal de campo para la escuadra del Pro Bowl de la NFC, Vick se convirtió en el segundo jugador en la historia de la NFL (miembro del Salón de la Fama STEVE YOUNG) en tener al menos 3,000 yardas pasando (3,018), 500 yardas acarreando (676) y un índice de pasador de 100.0+ (100.2) en una temporada. En Semana la 10, Vick se convirtió en el primer jugador en los anales de la liga en tener al menos 300 yardas pasando (333), 50 yardas acarreando (80), cuatro pases anotadores (4) y dos acarreos anotadores (2) en un solo juego.

ST. LOUIS
SAM BRADFORD, la selección total Nº 1 en el Sorteo 2010 de la NFL, titularizará en el Fin de Semana de Apertura por segundo año consecutivo. El Jugador Novato Ofensivo del Año por AP guió a los Rams a siete triunfos la temporada pasada y estableció marcas de la NFL para un novato con 590 pases intentados y 354 completos. Bradford lanzó 3,512 yardas y se convirtió en el segundo mariscal de campo en la historia de la liga (PEYTON MANNING) con al menos 3,500 yardas pasando como novato. Sus 18 pases anotadores igualaron la quinta mayor cantidad por un mariscal novato.

SAN FRANCISCO
El mariscal de campo de séptimo año ALEX SMITH, selección Nº 1 total en el Sorteo 2005 de la NFL, titularizó 50 juegos en su carrera, incluyendo 10 en cada una de las dos últimas temporadas. El año pasado, Smith se ubicó segundo en la NFL con un índice de pasador de 118.8 en la zona roja, completando 30 de 42 pases (71.4 por ciento) para 177 yardas, con nueve anotaciones y ninguna intercepción. En su carrera como titular, Smith registró un índice de pasador de al menos 96.0 en un juego 10 veces y los 49ers tienen un perfecto 10-0 en esos duelos.

SEATTLE
El veterano de sexto año TARVARIS JACKSON realiza su debut con los Seahawks en el Fin de Semana de Apertura. Seleccionado en la segunda vuelta (Nº 64 total) por Minnesota en el Sorteo 2006 de la NFL, Jackson titularizó 20 juegos en su carrera. Completó 354 de 603 pases (58.7 por ciento) para 3,984 yardas con 24 anotaciones y acarreó 535 yardas y cuatro anotaciones. Jackson fue nombrado Jugador Ofensivo de la NFC de la Semana en la 15ª de 2008, cuando lanzó cuatro pases anotadores, un pico de carrera, y registró un índice de pasador de 135.5.

TAMPA BAY
El año pasado, JOSH FREEMAN encabezó a los Buccaneers a 10 triunfos, convirtiéndose en el primer mariscal de campo bajo la edad de 23 años en ganar al menos 10 juegos desde 2004 (BEN ROETHLISBERGER). Siete de las 13 victorias en la carrera de Freeman fueron regresos desde atrás en el último período o en la prórroga. Freeman tuvo un índice de pasador de 95.9, un pico de carrera, en 2010, la sexta marca más alta en la NFL. Sus 3,451 yardas pasando el año pasado fueron la cuarta mayor en la historia del equipo y se unió a BRAD JOHNSON como los únicos miembros de los Bucs en lanzar al menos 3,000 yardas, 20 anotaciones (25) y menos de 10 intercepciones (6) en una temporada.

WASHINGTON
El veterano de noveno año REX GROSSMAN, seleccionado en primera vuelta (Nº 22 total) por Chicago en el Sorteo 2003 de la NFL, titularizó 34 juegos en su carrera, incluyendo tres con los Redskins la temporada pasada. En esas tres titularidades en 2010 con Washington, registró dos juegos de 300 yardas. En 2006, Grossman lanzó 3,193 yardas, un pico de carrera, y 23 anotaciones, al tiempo que encabezó a los Bears a una marca de 13-3 y a una aparición en el Super Bowl XLI.

Listado de los mariscales de campo activos de cada equipo:

ARIZONA
Richard Bartel - Tarleton State - 3
Kevin Kolb - Houston - 5* ~
John Skelton - Fordham - 2

ATLANTA
Chris Redman - Louisville - 9
Matt Ryan - Boston College - 4*

CAROLINA
Derek Anderson - Oregon State - 7~
Jimmy Clausen - Notre Dame - 2
Cam Newton - Auburn - N* **

CHICAGO
Jay Cutler - Vanderbilt - 6*
Nathan Enderle - Idaho - N**
Caleb Hanie - Colorado State - 4

DALLAS
Jon Kitna - Central Washington - 15
Stephen McGee - Texas A&M - 3
Tony Romo - Eastern Illinois - 9*

DETROIT
Shaun Hill - Maryland - 10
Matthew Stafford - Georgia - 3*
Drew Stanton - Michigan State - 5

GREEN BAY
Matt Flynn - Louisiana State - 4
Aaron Rodgers - California - 7 *

MINNESOTA
Donovan McNabb - Syracuse - 13* ~
Christian Ponder - Florida State - N**
Joe Webb - Alabama-Birmingham - 2

NEW ORLEANS
Drew Brees - Purdue - 11*
Chase Daniel - Missouri - 3

NEW YORK GIANTS
David Carr - Fresno State - 10~
Eli Manning - Mississippi - 8*

PHILADELPHIA
Mike Kafka - Northwestern - 2
Michael Vick - Virginia Tech - 10*
Vince Young - Texas - 6~

ST. LOUIS
Sam Bradford - Oklahoma - 2*
A.J. Feeley - Oregon - 11

SAN FRANCISCO
Colin Kaepernick - Nevada - N**
Alex Smith - Utah - 7*
Scott Tolzien - Wisconsin - N

SEATTLE
Tarvaris Jackson - Alabama State - 6* ~
Josh Portis - California (PA) - N
Charlie Whitehurst - Clemson - 6

TAMPA BAY
Josh Freeman - Kansas State - 3*
Josh Johnson - San Diego - 4

WASHINGTON
John Beck - Brigham Young - 5
Rex Grossman - Florida - 9*

N: novato; * Se espera que titularice; ** Seleccionado en el Sorteo Universitario 2011; ~ Veterano nuevo en el equipo.

NOTICIAS Y NOTAS DE LA AFC - SEMANA 1

2011-09-07T17:16:00.020-03:00

LOS MARISCALES DE LA AFC SUBEN AL ESCENARIO CENTRAL EN EL FOOTBALL AMERICANO DE LUNES EN LA NOCHE

El Fin de Semana de Apertura 2011 concluirá en una faena doble este lunes en la noche, cuando cuatro mariscales de campo de la AFC buscan comenzar la temporada como ganadores.

En su primer juego, los mariscales de campo TOM BRADY, de los New England Patriots, y CHAD HENNE, de los Miami Dolphins, se encontrarán en el Sun Life Stadium en el primer juego de Lunes en la Noche (Monday Night Football, 7:00 PM, hora de New York, ESPN) de la regular temporada. Brady encabeza a los Patriots en su visita a un Miami que ganó siete juegos consecutivos en el Fin de Semana de Apertura. El dos veces Jugador Más Valioso (MVP) está 44-11 (.800) como titular contra equipos de la AFC Este y espera mejorar esa marca. Henne busca registrar un triunfo divisional al tiempo que Miami busca capturar la AFC Este por primera vez desde 2008.

El segundo juego tendrá un choque entre rivales de la AFC Oeste, ya que KYLE ORTON y los Denver Broncos recibirán a JASON CAMPBELL y los Oakland Raiders en el Sports Authority Field de Mile High (10:15 PM, hora de New York, ESPN). Campbell llevó a Oakland a una marca perfecta (6-0) contra equipos de la AFC Oeste la temporada pasada. Orton busca ayudar a los Broncos a extender su racha de 11 victorias consecutivas en aperturas en casa.

Un vistazo equipo por equipo en la posición de mariscal en la AFC en 2011:

BALTIMORE
JOE FLACCO está determinado a llevar a los Ravens hasta la postemporada por cuarto año consecutivo. El mariscal de campo de fuerte brazo estableció picos de carrera en yardas pasando (3,622), anotaciones (25) e índice de pasador (93.6) en 2010. Flacco estará buscando al dúo de veteranos receptores compuesto por ANQUAN BOLDIN y LEE EVANS, que recientemente fue adquirido vía traspaso de Buffalo. El corredor Todo-estrella RAY RICE será un factor en el juego terrestre y recibiendo eventuales pases.

BUFFALO
Veterano de siete años de Harvard, RYAN FITZPATRICK realizará su primera titularidad en Fin de Semana de Apertura. Fitzpatrick registró picos de carrera en pases completos (255), yardas pasando (3,000), anotaciones (23) e índice de pasador (81.8) en 13 titularidades la temporada pasada. En su segundo año comandando la ofensiva del entrenador en jefe CHAN GAILEY, Fitzpatrick se apoyará en el receptor STEVIE JOHNSON, que evolucionó en el jugador clave de los Bills la temporada pasada, con 82 recepciones para 1,073 yardas y 10 anotaciones.

CINCINNATI
Seleccionado en la segunda vuelta (Nº 35 total) en el Sorteo Universitario de la NFL 2011, ANDY DALTON se convertirá en el primer mariscal de campo novato de los Bengals en titularizar el primer juego del club de la temporada desde GREG COOK en 1969. Egresado de TCU, buscará construir química con el receptor novato A.J. GREEN, que fue seleccionado Nº 4 total, y con el ala cerrada JERMAINE GRESHAM, que fue la primera selección de los Bengals en el Sorteo de la NFL de 2010.

CLEVELAND
COLT MC COY, que titularizó ocho juegos en 2010, guiará a un nuevo estilo de ofensivo, del tipo Costa Oeste, bajo el tutelaje del nuevo entrenador en jefe PAT SHURMUR. McCoy buscará utilizar al receptor multipropósito JOSHUA CRIBBS junto con un joven elenco de receptores. El ala cerrada de octavo año BEN WATSON, que registró picos de carrera en recepciones (68) y yardas recibiendo (763) en su primera temporada en Cleveland el año pasado, estará también a disposición de McCoy. Le entregará el ovoide en mano al corredor PEYTON HILLIS, que espera seguir construyendo con el antecedente de las 1,177 yardas acarreando del año pasado, un pico de carrera.

DENVER
KYLE ORTON, que ingresa a su tercera temporada como el mariscal de campo titular de los Broncos, se unirá al entrenador en jefe JOHN FOX en el inicio de una nueva era de Denver. El año pasado, Orton lanzó más de 3,500 yardas por segunda temporada consecutiva (3,653 en 2010; 3,802 en 2009). Orton, que igualó el tercer lugar en la NFL con 11 pases completos de más de 40 yardas en 2010, reposará en el receptor Todo-estrella BRANDON LLOYD, que encabezó la liga con 1,448 yardas recibiendo, su mejor desempeño anual, la temporada pasada.

HOUSTON
Desde 2009, el mariscal de campo MATT SCHAUB se ubica segundo en la NFL con 9,140 yardas pasando (PEYTON MANNING, 9,200). Schaub cumplirá un papel vital en el esfuerzo de los Texans de llegar a su primera postemporada. El veterano mariscal de campo buscará al receptor Todo-estrella ANDRE JOHNSON, al ala cerrada de manos seguras OWEN DANIELS y al líder acarreando de la NFL 2010, el corredor ARIAN FOSTER, que también registró 2,220 yardas desde la línea de comienzo (1,616 acarreando, 604 recibiendo), un pico de liga, la temporada pasada.

INDIANAPOLIS
Recuperándose de una cirugía en el cuello entre temporadas, PEYTON MANNING está enfocado en llevar a los Colts a la postemporada por 10º año consecutivo. Manning, que está ingresando en su 14ª temporada en la NFL, se ubica tercero en la historia, en una carrera, en pases completos (4,682), yardas pasando (54,828), y pases anotadores (399). Manning necesita 286 pases completos y 22 pases anotadores en 2011 para superar al miembro del Salón de la Fama DAN MARINO (4,967 pases completos, 420 anotaciones) por el segundo lugar en la historia en cada categoría.

JACKSONVILLE
LUKE MC COWN fue nombrado el mariscal de campo titular de los Jaguars. El veterano de octavo año ingresa a su tercera temporada con Jacksonville. McCown se apoyará fuertemente en el corredor Todo-estrella MAURICE JONES-DREW, que acumuló 1,300 yardas acarreando en temporada consecutivas (1,324 en 2010; 1,391 en 2009). En el juego aéreo, el ala cerrada MARCEDES LEWIS y el receptor MIKE THOMAS servirán como los principales blancos de los lanzamientos de McCown.

KANSAS CITY
Hace un año, MATT CASSEL encabezó a los Chiefs a su primer título de la AFC Oeste desde 2003. El ex producto de USC lanzó más de 3,000 yardas por segunda vez en su carrera la temporada pasada (3,116 en 2010; 3,693 en 2008) y registró picos de carrera con 27 anotaciones y un índice de pasador de 93.0. En el juego aéreo, Cassel dependerá del receptor Todo-estrella DWAYNE BOWE, que tuvo 15 recepciones anotadoras, una marca de franquicia y un pico de liga, en 2010. El corredor JAMAAL CHARLES, que encabezó a Kansas City 164.2 yardas acarreando por juego en 2010, la mejor cifra de la NFL, solidificará el ataque terrestre.

MIAMI
El mariscal de campo de cuarto año CHAD HENNE ingresa a su segunda temporada como titular en el Fin de Semana de Apertura. En 2010, Henne lanzó 3,301 yardas, un pico de carrera. La pareja de receptores de Henne son el Todo-estrella BRANDON MARSHALL (86) y DAVONE BESS (79), que se combinaron para la mayor cantidad de recepciones para una pareja en la historia del equipo (165). Adquirido mediante traspaso de los Saints, el corredor REGGIE BUSH servirá como amenaza en el juego aéreo y también en el terrestre. Henne estará bajo la tutela del nuevo coordinador ofensivo de los Dolphins BRIAN DABOLL.

NEW ENGLAND
Viniendo de su segunda temporada como Jugador Más Valioso (MVP), TOM BRADY ingresa a su 12º año con una marca de 111-32 (.776), el mejor porcentaje de triunfos de cualquier mariscal de campo de la NFL en la era del Super Bowl con al menos 100 titularidades. La temporada pasada, Brady encabezó a New England a una marca de 14-2, la mejor de la NFL, y lanzó la segunda mayor cantidad de anotaciones de su carrera (36). En 2011, Brady necesita nueve triunfos para convertirse en el sexto mariscal con 120 victorias como mariscal de campo titular en la historia. Brady estará enfocado en blancos confiables como DEION BRANCH y WES WELKER, junto con el nuevo jugador de los Patriots CHAD OCHOCINCO.

NEW YORK JETS
Tras finalizar a sólo una victoria del Super Bowl las pasadas dos campañas, el mariscal de campo MARK SÁNCHEZ está enfocado en superar sus logros en su tercera temporada en la NFL. Nombrado capitán ofensivo de los Jets, Sánchez buscará esparcir el balón al ala cerrada DUSTIN KELLER, que encabezó al cllub en recepciones (55) la temporada pasada, y al trío de receptores compuesto por SANTONIO HOLMES y los veteranos recién llegados PLAXICO BURRESS y DERRICK MASON.

OAKLAND
JASON CAMPBELL busca florecer bajo el nuevo entrenador en jefe HUE JACKSON, que fue coordinador ofensivo de los Raiders en 2010. En su segunda temporada en Oakland, Campbell está enfocado en hacer regresar a los Raiders a la postemporada por primera vez desde 2002. El veterano de séptimo año buscará a los jóvenes receptores DARRIUS HEYWARD-BEY, JACOBY FORD y LOUIS MURPHY para agrandar el terreno de juego. El corredor de cuarto año DARREN MC FADDEN, que acarreó 1,157 yardas, un pico de carrera, en 2010, balanceará la ofensiva de los Raiders.

PITTSBURGH
Un probado ganador desde haber ingresado en la NFL en 2004, BEN ROETHLISBERGER ostenta una marca de 69-29 (.704) como titular, el tercer mejor porcentaje ganador activo entre los mariscales de campo de la NFL (mínimo de 10 titularidades). Tras perderse los primeros cuatro juegos de la temporada 2010, Roethlisberger encabezó la AFC con 3,200 yardas pasando por el resto de la regular temporada. El mariscal de campo de brazo fuerte busca explotar el terreno de juego con el velocista MIKE WALLACE y mantener a los defensas a raya con su habilidad elusiva en el bolsillo.

SAN DIEGO
PHILIP RIVERS encabezó a los Chargers a cuatro títulos de la AFC Oeste en sus cinco temporadas como titular y busca que San Diego vuelva a jugar la postemporada. Rivers encabezó la NFL con 4,710 yardas pasando, un pico de carrera, en 2010 y puede convertirse en el primer mariscal de campo de los Chargers en la historia en registrar más de 4,000 yardas en cuatro temporada consecutivas. Rivers confiará en el ala cerrada Todo-estrella ANTONIO GATES y en el receptor VINCENT JACKSON como sus dos opciones de pase más concretas.

TENNESSEE
El recién arribado MATT HASSELBECK tiene un inicio fresco en Tennessee, en el momento en que el lindero ofensivo miembro del Salón de la Fama y entrenador en jefe novato MIKE MUNCHAK comienza su mandato. Hasselbeck encabezó a los Seahawks a un título de la NFC Oeste la temporada pasada y alcanzó la cifra de 3,000 yardas pasando por séptima vez en su carrera. El tres veces Todo-estrella ingresa a su 13ª temporada en la NFL y necesita 421 yardas pasando para alcanzar las 30,000 (29,579).

Listado de los mariscales de campo activos de cada equipo:

BALTIMORE
Joe Flacco - Delaware - 4*
Tyrod Taylor - Virginia Tech - N**

BUFFALO
Ryan Fitzpatrick - Harvard - 7*
Brad Smith - Missouri - 6~
Tyler Thigpen - Coastal Carolina - 5~

CINCINNATI
Andy Dalton - TCU - N* **
Bruce Gradkowski - Toledo - 6~

CLEVELAND
Thaddeus Lewis - Duke - 1~
Colt McCoy - Texas - 2*
Seneca Wallace - Iowa State - 9

DENVER
Kyle Orton - Purdue - 7*
Brady Quinn - Notre Dame - 5
Tim Tebow - Florida - 2

HOUSTON
Matt Leinart - Southern California - 6
Matt Schaub - Virginia - 8*
T.J. Yates - North Carolina - N**

INDIANAPOLIS
Kerry Collins - Penn State - 17~
Peyton Manning - Tennessee - 14*
Curtis Painter - Purdue - 3

JACKSONVILLE
Blaine Gabbert - Missouri - N**
Luke McCown - Louisiana Tech - 8*

KANSAS CITY
Matt Cassel - Southern California - 7*
Tyler Palko - Pittsburgh - 1
Ricky Stanzi - Iowa - N

MIAMI
Chad Henne - Michigan - 4*
Matt Moore - Oregon State - 5

NEW ENGLAND
Tom Brady - Michigan - 12*
Brian Hoyer - Michigan State - 3
Ryan Mallett - Arkansas - N**

NEW YORK JETS
Mark Brunell - Washington - 19
Kevin O’Connell - San Diego State - 4
Mark Sánchez - Southern California - 3*

OAKLAND
Kyle Boller - California - 8~
Jason Campbell - Auburn - 7*

PITTSBURGH
Charlie Batch - Eastern Michigan - 14
Dennis Dixon - Oregon - 4
Ben Roethlisberger - Miami (Ohio) - 8*

SAN DIEGO
Philip Rivers - North Carolina State - 8*
Billy Volek - Fresno State - 12

TENNESSEE
Matt Hasselbeck - Boston College - 13* ~
Jake Locker - Washington - N**
Rusty Smith - Florida Atlantic - 2

(N: novato; * Se espera que titularice; ** Seleccionado en el Sorteo Universitario 2011; ~ Veterano nuevo en el equipo)

LA NFL RECORDARÁ Y SALUDARÁ EL ESPÍRITU RESISTENTE DE NORTEAMÉRICA EL 11 DE SEPTIEMBRE

2011-09-07T17:11:00.001-03:00

La NFL, sus jugadores y aficionados se tomarán su tiempo para recordar el coraje y la resistencia que prosiguió a los eventos del 11 de septiembre de 2001 con tributos especiales en el estadio, en el campo de juego y en televisión durante todos los juegos el domingo 11 de septiembre. El primer domingo de la temporada regular de la NFL recae en el décimo aniversario del 11 de septiembre de 2001.

Los juegos y las transmisiones en ese domingo de apertura unirá a los aficionados para rememorar a aquellos que perdieron sus vidas, rendirle honores a las familias que perdieron seres amados, y saludar al espíritu estadounidense, los que brindaron auxilio en el 9/11, y otros héroes que contribuyeron a la recuperación de la Nación.

La NFL y la Asociación de Jugadores de la NFL (NFLPA) contribuirán con un millón de dólares a tres monumentos y a dos caridades relacionadas con los eventos del 11 de septiembre de 2001. Además, la NFL y la NFLPA donarán las ganancias de la venta en subastas de artículos (www.NFL.com/Auction) de juegos disputados el domingo 11 de septiembre.