NFL Notes for 2-4-11

NFL teams could soon dump playbooks for iPads?

NFL teams including the Dallas Cowboys could soon be abandoning their traditional paper playbooks and game-day printouts of plays in favor of iPads or other tablets. Pete Walsh, head of technology for the Cowboys, said his team and at least a “couple” of others are currently considering abandoning their playbooks in favor of iPads, a move they feel could save them as much as 5,000 pages of paper printouts per game. Walsh explained this potential philosophical and technological shift to CNET during a discussion about Cowboys Stadium technology at Super Bowl Media Day here Tuesday. The stadium will play host on Sunday to Super Bowl XLV between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers. For tech-friendly sports fans, it’s an appealing image–coaches and players sitting on the sidelines of the giant Cowboys Stadium, iPads in hand, studying likely plays for the next few series, or sifting through overhead photos of the last plays in order to assess their performance, or that of their opponents. Still, it’s also a bit difficult to imagine old-school NFL coaches agreeing to carry around a shiny gadget like an iPad instead of their trusty playbooks–or reviewing glossy color photos on the 9.7-inch screen rather than shuffling through paper printouts of the last passing play. One can imagine such coaches agreeing to hand over their playbooks only through tightly gritted teeth. But Walsh suggested that this migration could well be coming, though he didn’t say how long it would be before we see football pros stalking the sidelines with tablets. –CNET News

Rusty picks the Steelers!

After a moment of indecision on Friday, Rusty, the Star-Telegram’s longhorn steer, chose the Pittsburgh Steelers as his favorite to win the Super Bowl by selecting from two trays of food representing the teams in downtown Fort Worth. Of course, this is the “new” Rusty. Here is a story on the “old” Rusty

Media Day at the Super Bowl and Traffic

Media day is a circus I would imagine.

For many north Texans, we couldn’t get out to go to work, but somehow, there was no problems for the Packers and Steelers to get to Media Day at Cowboys Stadium today. In fact, some people say the highway department made sure they got there:

Sportscaster and Dallas Cowboys legend Daryl “Moose” Johnston lives near downtown Dallas, but on Tuesday morning he took Texas 183 on his way to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, where he was scheduled to appear for Super Bowl media day. Johnston could have taken Interstate 30, but he figured Texas 183 would be de-iced in Irving, near where the Green Bay Packers are staying for the Super Bowl.

He figured wrong.

“It was bad. People were sliding around. It’s as bad as I’ve seen it here,” Johnston said during Super Bowl media day at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. “I’m from Buffalo. I have no problem with my own ability to drive in bad weather. But I worry about the other people who don’t.”

As three inches of ice and snow blanketed Dallas-Fort Worth Tuesday morning, and temperatures dropped into the teens by mid-morning, traffic slid and slammed to a halt across the region. About the only road where ice wasn’t grinding traffic to a halt was I-30 between Fort Worth and Dallas — which happens to be the main road both the Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers used to get from their hotels in downtown Fort Worth and Las Colinas to get to media day in Arlington.

Is TxDot playing favorites for the Super Bowl? (Star Telegram)

Super Bowl Notes – Tuesday

Republicans pulling for Packers, Democrats cheer for Steelers

• The results show that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is the most disliked player going into Sunday’s game and the fourth most disliked player in the league — behind Brett Favre, Michael Vick and Tom Brady. <!–more Continue reading for details on the political part of the survey–>
• Considering the four teams that played in the NFC and AFC Conference Championship games, the majority of Americans believe the Steelers-Packers matchup will make for the best Super Bowl this year.
• According to the survey’s findings, this dream matchup will also be broadcast on American’s top choice for network.  The majority of Americans say Fox does the best job of broadcasting NFL games and most pick Fox as the network on which they would most like to see the game.
• Americans are rooting for the Packers (45% to 39% over the Steelers), but there are big discrepancies along race and party. The findings show that Democrats and non-whites are rooting for the Steelers, while Republicans and whites are pulling for the Packers.
• 7 in 10 say they watch the Super Bowl for the game, not the ads, including the majority of females (60%). — Hollywood Reporter

Super Bowl Notes

Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb is going to the Super Bowl. Well, he’s going to Texas for Super Bowl week, but he’ll be working for ESPN, not the Redskins. McNabb will serve as a guest analyst next week for ESPN’s coverage of Super Bowl XLV, providing his thoughts on the game, teams and players. The safe guess is that a Redskins question or three also might pop up. “We’re excited to have Donovan back on ESPN as a part of our Super Bowl coverage,” said ESPN senior coordinating producer Stephanie Druley. “We worked with him in previous years and he always has strong opinions and great insights on the game, the teams and especially the quarterback position.” — Washington Post

Steelers defensive star spending big on Super Bowl trip

Steelers NT Casey Hampton’s “crib” isn’t in Dallas. He was born in Galveston, a city on the Gulf of Mexico. A few years ago, he moved to nearby Houston. His relatives and closest friends coming to the Super Bowl will have roughly a 240-mile drive to Dallas this week. Hampton, a five-time Pro Bowler, is personally taking care of their Super Bowl arrangements. He’s renting a house for them in Dallas. He figures that beats paying for their airfare and hotel rooms. And for at least 15 family members and friends, he’s purchased their tickets at $900 a pop. “It’s going to be expensive for me,” he said. “So from that standpoint, it’s not going to be a good thing.” Whatever Hampton ends up spending for his entourage’s Super Bowl stay, no one feels sorry for him. His base salary this season is $4 million. Plus, Hampton and the rest of the Steelers have already pocketed $21,000 for winning the divisional-round playoff game against the Ravens and $38,000 for the AFC Championship Game against the Jets. If the Steelers beat the Packers in Super Bowl XLV, each player gets $83,000 more (the loser’s share is $42,000). — Beaver County Times

It’s time for Super Bowl XLV!

Wow, can it get any more crazier here in north Texas than having a Super Bowl in the back yard?

Thanks to my good friend Rick Chandler over at Off the Bench an NBC owned blog, I am able to do some work for that site and it’s a blast so far. I’m getting calls to do interviews of players.  I’ll be interviewing Jason Witten later on this evening via phone, and next week Jerome Bettis.

Is this country great or what?? Stay tuned!

Which NFL jerseys are women buying?

Apparantly, there is a large segment of this society (women), that buy NFL jerseys differently from men. In other words, women like certain jerseys differently than men. Case in point. 

With more than 40 percent of NFL fans being female, jerseys tailored for women have become popular in recent years. So it’s interesting to see what jerseys men buy that women don’t and vice versa.

So what player experienced a nice jump in the women’s jersey market as compared to the men’s market?

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is reportedly dating Gossip Girl star Jessica Szohr, is fourth on the women’s jersey list one spot ahead of Tom Brady. He ranks seventh on the list of regular jerseys.

And women clearly love their Dallas Cowboys. Wide receiver Miles Austin is seventh on the women’s list, but 13th on the men’s list. Quarterback Tony Romo is ninth on the women’s list and 11th on the men’s list. And the biggest jump of anyone on the list is tight end Jason Witten, who is 21st on the men’s list, but 10th on the women’s list.

 Best Selling NFL Women’s Jerseys

1. Troy Polamalu, Steelers
2. Peyton Manning, Colts
3. Drew Brees, Saints
4. Aaron Rodgers, Packers
5. Tom Brady, Patriots
6. Tim Tebow, Broncos
7. Miles Austin, Cowboys
8. Eli Manning, Giants
9. Tony Romo, Cowboys
10. Jason Witten, Cowboys

Interesting. I think I’ll drag out my Cowboys jersey for the Super Bowl.

Whose NFL Jerseys Scores the Most With Women? (CNBC)

My tribute to Ralph

Back in 1971 when I arrived at Fort Riley Kansas, there was this guy named Ralph, from Bulger Pa. that was assigned to my squad room on post barracks. On top of being some where I didn’t want to be in the first place, here was this guy always, always talking about anything related to Pittsburgh sports. The Pittsburgh Pirates had a great baseball team, and of course the Pittsburgh Steelers had Terry Bradshaw and Lynn Swan and all of those guys. There were some great games those Steelers had against my Cowboys by the way.

Ralph was always, always talking up how good the Steelers were. It got old pretty quick to me. I was in a situation that made me think about other priorities at the time, including a pregnant wife back home. I endured Ralph and all of his Pittsburgh bragging.

I guess I endured it long enough, for he and I became best friends. Aside from him bragging on Pittsburgh, he was a funny guy and helped me laugh about things that were pretty much serious otherwise. We were best friends after all.

And then like so many times in the Army, our tours ended and we were going to be going home soon. Of course you always say you will write, but you never do. But Ralph and I had such a special bond and friendship, we made a pact that every year, on Super Bowl Sunday, we would call each other and catch up and hopefully, be talking either Cowboys or Steelers in the Super Bowl.

We called each other for years. We helped each other through some tough times together. His cancer, and my divorce. We were still friends after all those years. He survived and so did I.

Time has sort of gotten by me now. It’s been several years since I have heard from Ralph, so since I see Pittsburgh is going back to the Super Bowl, I thought I would call Ralph and see what his plans are. Maybe he needed a place to stay to watch his Steelers and this being the first time Dallas has hosted a Super Bowl, what a great idea if I invited him down for the game.

I didn’t have his phone number so I Googled him and found this.

Ralph E. Campbell Jr.
Millworker from Bulger
Ralph Edwin Campbell Jr., 49, of Bulger, died Friday, June 30, 2000, in his home. He was born August 19, 1950, in Midway, a son of Alverta Stewart Campbell of Clinton and the late Ralph Campbell Sr. Mr. Campbell graduated from Fort Cherry High School and was a millworker at Climax Molybdenum. On October 7, 1972, he married Sharon Holmes, who survives. Surviving, in addition to his wife and mother, are a son, Brant Edwin Campbell of Bulger; a daughter, Angela Lynn Shaffer of Bulger; two sisters, Anna Black of Midway and Alice Reese of West Palm Beach, Fla.; and two grandchildren, Matthew Paul and Brianne Nicole Shaffer.

Wow. I’m pretty stunned. I should have called sooner. I just figured he would be there.

Maybe I’ll call his wife someday, just not now. Ralph was a great guy. Hang in there Ralph, your doing ok now.

If your favorite NFL team is a bird, you lost this weekend

Wow the Ravens, Seahawks, and Falcons all lost this playoff weekend past. Some incredible games for certain. Even the Jets’ win over the Pats was a shocker. So the Jets talked smack, but they were able to back it up. As we say in west Texas, ”it ain’t smack talkin if you can back it up.” So give the Jets credit, they won their playoff game against the Pats in the Pats’ backyard. 

But I digress. How do you let a team that is 3rd and 19, with 2:00 to go, not only get a first down, but complete a pass down to your 4 yard line? Incredible.

So there ya have it. The Jets vs. the Steelers for the AFC Championship this weekend, and the Bears vs the Packers for the NFC Championship.

Speaking of the Packers and QB Aaron Rodgers, does he snub a cancer patient trying to get his autograph? See for yourself:

Wow.

Let’s see how all this goes while my Cowboys sit home and introduce a new defensive coordinator.

So, let’s have a great week and see if we can even come close to predicting who will go to the Super Bowl after this weekend. Have a good one.

Enjoy the music for the day

If Jeff Reed uses your bathroom, make sure you have something to dry your hands with

Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Jeff Reed has pleaded guilty to disorderly contest and criminal mischief after police say he broke a towel dispenser in a convenience store.

Reed pleaded guilty to the two summary offenses, which are similar to traffic tickets, on Friday. He’ll be fined $543.50.

Police say Reed threw a temper tantrum Feb. 14 at a Sheetz store in New Alexandria, a tiny borough about 35 miles east of Pittsburgh, because its restroom didn’t have any towels.

Police say he broke the dispenser then used profane language to an employee and also outside the store.

Reed made 27 of 31 field goals and 36 of 37 PATs for 117 points in his seventh season with the Steelers, which was capped by Pittsburgh’s 27-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals in the Super Bowl.

 

Steelers kicker Reed pleads guilty in restroom tantrum (USA Today)