Tag: football

Oct142011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Football Friday — The World League of American Football

Football Friday — The World League of American Football

Football Friday, Sports
It's instructive to remember from time to time that not everything the National Football League touches turns to gold. Case in point -- the World League of American Football. It was formed, with backing from the NFL, fewer than five years after the collapse of the rival USFL. The WLAF was the NFL's first organized attempt to spread the game beyond American shores, and as such it featured four franchises outside the United States (London, Barcelona, Frankfurt, and Montreal). It also served as a developmental league of sorts for the NFL, a concept that would be carried over into the WLAF's successor league. The first WLAF franchise was awarded to Orlando, which dubbed themselves the Thunder and lives on in football fans' memories as the owners of one of the ugliest uniforms in spor
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Oct82011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Remembering Al Davis (1929 – 2011)

Remembering Al Davis (1929 – 2011)

People, Sports
You need to know two things about me to get some context for this post. One, I've been an Oakland Raiders fan for just about 30 years, which means I've seen some sweet highs and a lot of dismal lows. Two, I am not a professional journalist and so I haven't had an Al Davis tribute ready to go for years -- which means these are my unedited, unprepared thoughts about the man in the minutes immediately after I heard about his death at age 82. I'm sure there are other articles and tributes that can properly frame Al Davis's legacy in a way I can't, but it needs to be said -- if you have even a passing interest in the National Football League, take five seconds right now and thank Al Davis. He, along with men like Wellington Mara, Pete Rozelle, and Lamar Hunt, was one of the titans of profess...
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Sep162011 by Chris Holmes1 Comment
Football Friday — Nine Oldest NFL stadiums

Football Friday — Nine Oldest NFL stadiums

Football Friday, Sports
Look around the NFL and you'll see that the days of the vintage stadium are nearly over. Of the league's 32 teams only nine play is stadiums built before the '90s, while 14 play in buildings opened since the turn of the 21st century. Let's take a look at those nine older stadiums, shall we? #1. Lambeau Field (1957) The home of the Green Bay Packers, Lambeau Field, is the oldest National Football League stadium currently in use. Until 1964 it went by its original name -- City Stadium -- but it was renamed to honor Curly Lambeau, Packers founder and long-time head coach. Lambeau underwent a renovation from 2001 to 2003, and now has a seating capacity of 73,128. The stadium is steeped in traditions both old and new. Most famously its playing surface is known as the Frozen Tundra, a...
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Sep92011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Football Friday — The Bills and Raiders resume a long series

Football Friday — The Bills and Raiders resume a long series

Football Friday, Sports
Week 2 of the 2011 NFL season sees the resumption of an old AFL rivalry, when the Oakland Raiders travel east to play the Buffalo Bills. These two charter AFL franchises first met in that old league's inaugural 1960 season, and since then the Raiders have a slim 19-16 margin in regular season matchups. Two of those wins came in the 1968 AFL campaign, and I have the highlights of both games for you. Up first is the week 1 matchup, in which Oakland obliterated Buffalo on their home turf, 48-6. Oakland QB Daryle Lamonica, playing in his second season since being traded by the Bills, amassed 167 passing yards and threw for once TD. 92 of those passing yards (and the touchdown) came courtesy three completions to Warren Wells, while RB Hewritt Dixon ran for 104 yards and a score. T...
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Sep82011 by Chris Holmes1 Comment
Fall TV Preview Madness! (ABC, 1974)

Fall TV Preview Madness! (ABC, 1974)

TV & Radio
In Fall TV Preview Madness, I present a network television schedule preview special from the distant past. We see the good, bad, and ugly for a network's entire upcoming fall slate. This is it folks, the shows everyone will be talking about at the water cooler and the Twitter this fall. Let's get right to it -- it's the ABC lineup for 1974! Good things are coming to ABC in '74! Like their Daytime lineup of General Hospital, One Life to Live, and All My Children. And don't forget The Brady Bunch and wacky game shows like Password, Let's Make a Deal, Split Second, The New $10,000 Pyramid, The Newlywed Game, plus the human drama of The Girl in My Life. On Funshine Saturday it's time for outrageous family fun with Hong Kong Phooey, The New Adventures of Gilligan, Devlin, Korg,...
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Sep22011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Football Friday — Packers vs. Saints, 1975

Football Friday — Packers vs. Saints, 1975

Football Friday, Sports
As the 2011 NFL season -- which opens next Thursday -- inches ever closer, I'm going to take a crack at a new series called Football Friday. Each week from now until the end of the 2011 season I'll post something of interest regarding the NFL. Since the first game of the new season is a matchup between the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers and the visiting New Orleans Saints. The Saints are coming off a stunning upset loss against the Seattle Seahawks in last year's NFC Wild Card round. Today's video is a time capsule back to Week 4 of the 1975 NFL regular season, and a clash between the Packers and Saints. New Orleans was playing their ninth season in the league, and their first in the newly opened Louisiana Superdome (mmm, Corned Beef Domewich!). The Saints, led by quarterback...
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Aug32011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
So long, Hightower

So long, Hightower

People
NFL and movie great Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith, who has died at age 66, is now free to crush quarterbacks and Honda Civics in heaven. Let's take a look at some of his most memorable work, both in the NFL and in his post-football career. Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment Until It Hurts (Bubba's exercise video) Married... with Children (Al Bundy vs. Spare Tire Dixon) Baltimore Colts vs. Oakland Raiders (AFC Championship -- January 3, 1971) Smith (#78) knocked Raiders starting QB Daryle Lamonica out of the game (skip to the hit), and the Colts went on to a 27-17 victory. They advanced to Super Bowl V and beat the Dallas Cowboys, 16-13. Incidentally, it's a proven fact that hits in the NFL are twice as vicious when narrated by John Facenda. Related articles Bubba ...
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Apr222011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Here’s some stuff I enjoyed this week

Here’s some stuff I enjoyed this week

Internet, Links
Here’s a fresh batch of some quality interweb finds I’ve come across over the last 7 days month: Remember Perverted Justice, the group behind Dateline NBC's "To Catch a Predator"? Yeah, they're bankrupt now. (Defamer Australia) A very comprehensive and busy look at the 100 most influential TV shows (Adweek) A very cool infographic tracing the history and popularity of web browsers. Ah Netscape, my first love. (Dvice) The Cranky Redskins Fan's Guide to Dan Snyder by Dave McKenna (Washington City Paper) The best fake punt ever, from last year's Bills/Titans Hall of Fame game in Canton. (StumbleUpon) The average Asian aging process. (My Funny Pictures) Creepiest Tumblr feed ever: Chicks With Steve Buscemeyes. (Tumblr) 8 Movie Special Effects You Won't Believe Aren't CGI.
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