Seahawks Clinch Post Season Berth

Seattle clinched a spot in the post season  by beating the Carolina Panthers 30-24.   By virtue of the 49ers loss to Atlanta, the Seahawks currently have the number 1 seed.

QB Jackson Gets Rushing Record

Congrats to Baltimore Ravens Quarterback Lamar Jackson, who in a Thursday Night Football Game, broke the single season rushing record for a quarterback.  The Ravens beat the New York Jets 42-21 in a game where Jackson also threw 5 touchdown passes. 
The record for single season rushing record for a quarterback was previously held by Michael Vick.

Retiring From Football

We salute Wide Receiver Doug Baldwin, who is retiring from the Seahawks.   Baldwin leaves with 493 catches for 6593 yards and 49 touchdowns.  He also leaves with a Super Bowl ring.

Seahawk Clark Traded To KC

The Seattle Seahawks have announced that they are trading star defensive end Frank Clark to the Kansas City Chiefs for a 1st round draft pick for Thursday's draft, a second pick in next year's draft and an exchange of 3rd round picks.   

Raiders Going To Las Vegas

After becoming the first team in major professional sports to return to it's original city.  San Diego returned to Los Angeles where it's origins lie.  The St Louis Rams, last year, returned to Los Angeles. Now the Raiders are moving for the third time.  The team will head for Las Vegas becoming the first major sports team to leave the same city twice.
For me it looks like teams in the 1990s moved to cities where they could connect with blue collar fans.  After about 20 years of no NFL moves, it seems now that teams are following the money. 

Chargers Desert San Diego For LA Riches

Los Angeles, strangely without an NFL team for 21 years, now has it's second.  The Chargers team has announced it's relocating to LA, the place of it's birth leaving the San Diego fans with nothing.
The Los Angeles Chargers were a charter member of the AFL in 1960, but moved to San Diego the following season.  The fans got to know Lance Alworth, known as Bambi, and WSU alum Keith Lincoln, the moose of the Palouse.  Coach Don Coryell brought a passing attack known as "Air Coryell." According to the Seattle Times, the team won the AFL championship in 1963, giving the city it's only major title.  Those were the days before the Super Bowl.  The San Diego Chargers would later play in the Super Bowl in 1995. losing to the San Francisco 49ers. 

NFL Domestic Violence Controversy Has Local Twist

Many Seahawk fans remember kicker Josh Brown.  In the team's first Super Bowl run, Brown hit some crucial field goals.  When Brown took a better deal to join the then St. Louis Rams, he lost his local luster.  What we didn't know is that Brown remained in the area and has brought national notoriety to the area. 
Brown received a one game suspension for alleged domestic violence against his then wife.  Apparently, in an attempt to turn his life around, Brown illustrated a multi year history history of abuse. After harsh penalties against African-American players for similar crimes, the big outcry is that the league was softer on Brown. 
The local controversy is the report that  King County Sheriff's office would not share information on Brown's arrest records. The Sheriff's office says it could not verify that it was indeed the NFL.
 Brown is currently a kicker with the New York Giants, one of the NFL's storied franchises. In light of the Brown controversy, it was announced that he would not travel to London for the team's next game against the LA Rams.

NFL Approve Rams Move To Los Angeles

 

For the second time in the history of the NFL, a team is returning to the city which it once played.  While the Raiders move to back Oakland, it's birthplace, seems less than successful, the Rams are hoping they can call Los Angeles "home" for a long time.   In 1994, both the Raiders and the Rams left Los Angeles.  Now NFL leaders have approved a move for the Rams to return to Los Angeles, a town they played in from 1945-1994.
I'm happy to see the Rams return to LA.  Since Seattle did not have a football team when I was a boy, I became an LA Ram fan.  They were on TV every week and I grew up a fan of Roman Gabriel and the "Fearsome Foursome".   I lived and died with the Rams and rooted hard for them when they played the Baltimore Colts and the Green Bay Packers. 
One thing that will help the Rams return is that a new stadium is in the works.  That is the one difference between that and the return of the Raiders.  The NFL also gave an option for the Chargers to join the Rams in LA if no deal can be made in San Diego.  Of the three teams seeking to relocate, the Chargers were the only team that was formed in LA, in the old AFL.

Seahawks Get 2014 NFL Season Underway Wilth Victory

The world champion Seattle Seahawks got the honor of kicking off the 2014 NFL season last night, doing it in style with a 36-16 victory over the Green Bay Packers.  With a crowd so raucous that radio listens could barely hear the announcers (I listened to the 1st quarter and most of the second on the local radio station),  Green Bay was forced to use up their allotted 3 time outs early in the first half.
Seahawk NFL Hall Of Fame members Walter Jones, Cortez Kennedy, and Steve Largent raised the 12 Flag in the games opening ceremonies.

Trouble At The Bay!

Did anyone see this coming?  Word has gotten out that the San Francisco 49ers tried to trade their coach to the Cleveland Browns.  Coach Jim Harbaugh who most fans feel has lead the Niners back to the glory days, may see the end of his days at San Francisco.  While being known as a winner, Harbaugh is known for marching to his own drum.  That is not always good in businesses minded pro sports.  Owners and General Managers like to win, but they also like to be in control.  Word is that the relationship between the coach and the front office is souring fast.
Although the tight lipped usually scowling Harbaugh is universally loathed by Seahawk fans, there is no doubt the rivalry has been good for the 'Hawks and it's fans, it has become one of the best rivalries in Seattle sports history and although wins are nice, they are even sweeter when someone can wear the "black hat" like Coach Harbaugh.

The What Bowl?

The Pro Bowl will be played today.  The Pro Bowl is the only all star game of the major sports that gets lower ratings than the regular seasons games.  One reason is that until 2010, it was played after the Super Bowl, an impossible act to follow.  Other sports have all-star games in the middle of their seasons, when interest in that sport is high.  When the Pro Bowl took place, most spectators have finished about six months of professional football and are in the middle of the NBA season, many are looking forward to the oncoming baseball season.  
In 2010 the game was moved to the week after the NFC and AFC championships, but that only assured that any star playing in the Super Bowl would not be available for the Pro Bowl. 
This year, instead the conferences playing each other, two of the NFL's all time greats, Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders have drafted sides just like on the playground.  There will also be no kickoffs and will have a 2 minute warning in each quarter.  Will this version of the Pro Bowl succeed?  NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had wanted to cancel the game, but the players wanted it to continue.  If today's game is not a success, the game will become a footnote in NFL history.

Seahawks Earn Number 1 Seed

The Seattle Seahawks beat the St.Louis Rams 27 to 9 earning number 1 seed  in the NFC Playoffs.
This gives the 'Hawks a first round bye and home field advantage throughout.  If the team can win the next to playoff games, it will advance to the Super Bowl.  In addition, the Seahawks are the NFC West champs. 
In 2005, the Hawks earned the number 1 seed and went to the Super Bowl, losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Seahawks-49ers Game Delayed

A huge match up between the Seahawks and 49ers is in storm delay.  The game between these bitter NFC West rivals, will hopefully resume soon.  Big lightning bolts can be seen here in Maple Valley.

Pat Summerall Dies

It's probably not a stretch to say that Pat Summerall was to sportscasting, what Walter Cronkite was to news.  Summerall had been associated with sports broadcasting since 1962 when he was a color commentator along with Chris Schenkel  broadcasting Giants games on CBS.  His rich voice and dedication to his craft lead him to become lead announcer on NFL broadcasts, not that common for ex-players.  Summerall had been doing the games when I first started watching the NFL in the late 60s.  He remained active until only a few years ago.    He would work for CBS, Fox and ESPN.His partnership with John Madden made  both men bigger stars. A few years ago, Summerall, a recovering alcoholic, could be heard on a  Shick Shadel commercial with Pat O'Day on the radio.  Although Summerall played in the NFL, there is no doubt he was much more famous as an announcer.  He broadcast 16 Super Bowls, more than any other announcer.

Seattle Seahawks Shock The Patriots

The Seattle Seahawks have continued to "beat the unbeatable" as they overcame a 23-10 deficit and defeated the New England Patriots 24-23.  The team has beaten NFL strongholds Green Bay, Dallas, and New England at home and have beaten Carolina at home.  The Seahawk have usually had trouble winning in the East Coast time zone.  The 'Hawks' two losses have come against conference foes Arizona and StLouis.  In the picture above, Sidney Rice brings in the winning touchdown, a 46 yard pass from quarterback Russell Wilson.

Cowboy Fan Disgusted By His Team's Performance

It's a lot of fun when it's our team making the other team's fans angry.  Here is a devoted Cowboy's fan sharing his disgust after the Seahawks pounded Dallas 27-7.  This video made the rounds in the Seattle media, but this is the entire video, raw and uncensored.

Seahawk Walter Jones Hangs It Up

9 time Pro Bowl selected Seahawk left tackle Walter Jones has announced his retirement. The 13 year pro missed all of last season due to an injury suffered late in the 2008 season and subsequent surgeries. Playing in a position that draws little attention, Jones accomplishments were brought to light in 2005 when Seattle headed to what was to become their first Super Bowl apearance. Tailback Shaun Alexander set a league rushing record and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck played injury free in what was at that time, the NFL's premier offensive line. According to the Seattle Times, Jones played in more post season games than any other player in franchise history. The team immediately retired his jersey number, 71

The AFL And ABA Challenge Established Sports Leagues

My brother, Steve wrote in his blog about the now defunct USFL which started as a Summer supplement to the NFL and then grew a little big for it's britches and finally challenged the Iconic league. It reminded me of the two upstart leagues of the 60s and 70s, the American Football League (AFL) and the American Basketball Association (ABA). The goals of both of these leagues was not nescessarily to destroy the established NFL and NBA, but to competed beside them like the American League and the older National League in Major League Baseball.

There is not much written to compare and contrast the AFL with the ABA, but there are so many similarities and yet so many differences.

The AFL no longer exists, but really it does. All of the original teams, plus the two expansion teams ( the Miami Dolphins and the Cincinnati Bengals), still exist, although the Houston Oilers are now the Tennessee Titans, the Oakland Raiders are again the Oakland Raiders, after a decade of so in Los Angeles. They exist in what became the American Football Conference (AFC). Three teams (Baltimore-Indianapolis Colts the original Cleveland Browns, now the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers), joined the AFL teams after the merger. The AFL was able to get a TV contract with NBC. It was easy for fans to watch their favorite NFL team on one channel and their favorite AFL team on the other. The AFL was established by oil baron Lamar Hunt, after the NFL stopped his bid to buy the Chicago Cardinals. Hunt owned the AFC's Dallas Texans. The Texans then moved to Kansas City and renamed themselves the "Chiefs". I think it was Hunt's money and the quality of ownership that he brought in that helped advance the AFL. Great AFL stars were Len Dawson, Joe Namath, Gino Cappeletti, and Daryl Lamonica.

Only four of the ABA teams joined the NBA. They are scattered in the league with no ties within. The ABA had no television agreement so it could not get either the exposure needed nor the money to lure the quality stars that the AFL could get. I remember an ABA all star game being played on "Wide World Of Sports" There was no common draft nor any direct competitive game with the NBA. The ABA was able to get some great stars though, Julius Erving, Connie Hawkins, and Rick Barry come to mind. It played with a Red, White, and Blue Basketball. It had the original three point line and many players had long hair and huge afro style haircuts. It was the flashier league.

The similarities are that they both brought changes to the older leagues, while the NBA does not play with Red, White, and Blue Basketballs, it adopted the "three point line" and the San Antonio Spurs (from the ABA) have won the league several times. The AFL brought the "two point conversion" , more colorful jerseys, the scoreboard keeping official gametime, player's names on jerseys, and of course the Super Bowl.

This year, the eight original AFL teams are having legacy weekends to celebrate 50 years since the founding of the league.

Women Against Fantasy Sports????

Yes, there is such a site . When I heard the morning guys on KJR talk about it, I thought that it was "tongue in cheek" but no it's dead serious. My guess is that these ladies have a little too much time on their hands. They should probably start their own league.

Football Broadcaster John Madden Retires

Veteran Football commentator and sports personality John Madden announced his retirement today. He started as a linebacker coach for the Oakland Raiders in 1967, the season that the Raiders went to their first Super Bowl. In 1969. he became a head coach for the team. He guided the Raiders to their first Super Bowl win, then retired in 1979. He joined CBS that year. Madden has worked for all 4 majorTV networks at one time or another. He not only belongs in the Sports broadcasting Hall Of Fame, they should name the Hall after him!