Tag / Super Bowl

by admin

Express Train From West Lafayette To Canton

Former Purdue quarterback Drew Brees, who led the school to their last Rose Bowl appearance in 2001, got the call to Canton last month as a member of the NFL’s Hall of Fame class of 2026.  Brees joins the hall alongside Roger Craig, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly, and Adam Vinatieri and will be inducted August 8 in Canton, Ohio.

Receiving scholarship offers from only two schools, Brees arrived in West Lafayette as an unheralded freshman in 1997.  He became the starter the following year and, alongside head coach Joe Tiller, helped lead a resurrection of a moribund football program.  He left Purdue following the 2000 season with two NCAA records, thirteen Big Ten Conference records, and 19 program records.

His NFL career began in 2001 after being selected by the Chargers in the second round of the draft.  After backing up Doug Flutie in his rookie season, Brees became the starting quarterback for the Chargers for the majority of the following four seasons.  Following the 2005 season, Brees became a free agent and headed to New Orleans, where he became a legend.  In 2009, he led the Saints to their first Super Bowl appearance and championship in franchise history.  He retired in 2021 as a thirteen-time Pro Bowler, two-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year, the 2006 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year, and holding eight league records and fourteen Saints franchise records.

by admin

CBS Upfronts

Forgoing a traditional upfront presentation with an ongoing writer’s strike threatening the start of the fall season in September, CBS announced what they hope will be airing on their network this fall.  With only two new shows on the schedule, things will look very familiar to viewers.  The week starts with a stable Monday, with the comedy block of The Neighborhood and Bob Hearts Abishola followed by two entries in the NCIS franchise: the OG and NCIS: Hawaii.  Tuesday also stays the same, with Dick Wolf’s FBI running all night.

Wednesday goes all reality, with extra-long episodes of Survivor and The Amazing Race taking the entire night.  Thursday has another hour-long comedy block, with Young Sheldon and Ghosts, followed by the returning So Help Me Todd and the new Elsbeth, a spinoff of The Good Wife starring Carrie Preston.  Friday remains the same, starting with the final season of S.W.A.T., followed by Fire Country and Blue Bloods.  Sunday kicks off with 60 Minutes, followed by a new version of Matlock, starring Kathy Bates as the septuagenarian lawyer who rejoins the workforce to win cases and expose corruption from within, The Equalizer, and CSI: Vegas.

On tap for midseason are comedy Poppa’s House, starring Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr., and the Justin Hartley drama Tracker, based on the Jeffery Deaver books and which is slated to debut following the Super Bowl in February.

Gone and never to be seen again are NCIS: Los Angeles, East New York, and True Lies.

by admin

By The Numbers – 23 Bonus!

In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees. By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues. Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Sunday, we continued our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #23.  Today, we take a special bonus look at player who famously wore #23 for other Chicago teams, making it possibly the most successful jersey number in town.

Michael Jordan was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the third overall pick in the 1984 NBA draft.  He would go on to become the greatest player in the history of the NBA, leading the Bulls to six titles, nabbing six Finals MVP awards, five MVP awards, three All Star Game MVPs, one Defensive Player of the Year award, and the 1985 Rookie of the Year award.  He was a 14-time All Star, 10-time first team All NBA, 9-time first team All-Defensive, 10-time scoring champion, 3-time steals leader, and 2-time Slam Dunk Contest champion.  A member of the NBA’s 50th and 75th Anniversary teams, his #23 has been retired by both the Bulls and the Miami Heat, for whom he never played.

Selected by the Bears him in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft, Devin Hester quickly became one of, if not the, greatest return specialists in NFL history.  In his first 13 weeks as a professional, Hester recorded six return touchdowns, including three punt returns, two kickoff returns, and a then-record tying 108-yard touchdown from a missed field goal against the New York Giants.  As the Bears advanced to the Super Bowl, Hester became the first and only person to return the opening kick of the Super Bowl back for a touchdown.  2007 added an additional 6 touchdowns, followed by 2 quieter seasons.  In 2010, he added an additional 3 punt returns for touchdowns, followed by 2 punt returns and 1 kickoff return in 2011.  He added an additional punt return in 2013, his final season with the Bears.  This past September, in his first year of eligibility, Hester was nominated for the induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

by admin

Fitbit VII – Week 3

A big drop down from last week, both in steps and in temperature, as winter showed its ugly side for the first time this season.  Things got off to a decent-enough start on Sunday, as I ignored the Super Bowl and came just 26 steps shy of 3900.  Monday was not quite as prolific, finishing with only 2500 steps.  Tuesday bounced back a bit, falling 31 steps shy of 3800.  Wednesday was the low point of the week, finishing a mere 3 steps lower than Monday’s total.  Things improved slightly on Thursday, which left me with 2700 steps.  Friday saw another improvement, going up to 3200 steps.  Saturday’s snowfall led to the best day of the week, with more than 5800 steps thanks to snow removal activities.

Total steps: 24,451

Daily average: 3493

by admin

RIP Buddy

BuddyRyanBearsFormer Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, who developed the ’46’ defense that helped the team win their only Super Bowl title, died yesterday at the age of 85.  Ryan was hired by the Bears in 1978 and was kept on board when Mike Ditka became head coach in 1982 after defensive players wrote to owner George Halas showing support.  The relationship between Ryan and Ditka eventually broke down, culminating in a halftime skirmish during the team’s only loss of the 1985 season against the Dolphins.

The night before the Super Bowl, Ryan informed his defense that he would be leaving to coach the Eagles, leading to him being carried off the field after the Super Bowl victory along with Ditka.  After leaving for the Eagles, Ryan had little interaction with Chicago or the Bears.  He appeared in a 30 for 30 special on the Super Bowl winning team last year, visibly weakened after a long battle with cancer.

by admin

Post Mortem – The Good Wife

The-Good-WifeDuring a commercial that aired during the Super Bowl in February, CBS announced that the currently airing 7th season would be the last for The Good Wife.  Premiering in 2009, the show starred Julianna Margulies as the wife of a disgraced politician who restarts her own law career to provide for the family.  Considered by many critics to be the last great network drama, the show had its own behind-the-scenes drama, with Margulies and Archie Panjabi going the final 2 1/2 seasons of Panjabi’s tenure on the show without appearing in a scene together.

While one of the better shows on TV in its prime, The Good Wife had started to show its age over the past 2 seasons, with last season’s storyline of Alicia running for state’s attorney separating Margulies from the rest of the main cast and the final season losing Panjabi, who was a major part of the show’s appeal.  A spinoff, starring Christine Baranski and Cush Jumbo, is being produced for the new CBS digital platform.  I doubt it will breath any new life into this concept.

by admin

FOX Upfronts

24LegacyEverything old is new again at FOX, as their upfront presentation included new versions of 24, Lethal Weapon, The Exorcist, and Prison Break.  As is their norm, FOX announced multiple schedules, one for the fall and another for mid-season.

In the fall, Mondays remain the same, with Gotham followed by Lucifer.  24: Legacy, starring Corey Hawkins, premieres following the Super Bowl in February before settling in on Mondays.  Tuesdays comedy block gets reduced to Brooklyn Nine-Nine followed by New Girl, followed by the returning Scream Queens.

Wednesday is the home of the Lethal Weapon reboot, starring Damon Wayans in the Danny Glover role of Murtaugh.  The final season of Bones moves back an hour on Thursday in the fall, before giving way to the return of Prison Break in the spring.  Friday brings the adaptation of The Exorcist, which sounds like a horrible idea.

Gone, but not forgotten, are Bordertown, Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life, Grandfathered, The Grinder, Knock Knock Live, Minority Report, and Second Chance.

by admin

NBC Upfronts

the_blacklist_-_keyartThanks to Sunday Night Football and the Winter Olympics, NBC is finishing this season as the number 1 network in the coveted 18-49 demographic.  Without the Olympics, things will not be as easy in the fall, so the network did some major upgrades, dropping poor performers like Community and Revolution and bringing in new shows starring the likes of Katherine Heigl, Debra Messing, and Kate Walsh.

The Blacklist, the one breakout scripted hit from last fall for NBC, returns to Mondays for the fall, before moving to Thursdays in the February after getting the post-Super Bowl slot.  It will be replaced by State of Affairs, Heigl’s return to television as a CIA analyst who advises the president.  Casey Wilson and Ken Marino team up for the new comedy Marry Me, slated for Tuesdays.

NBC looks to have abandoned the Must See TV concept on Thursday, replacing the first hour of comedy with a new season of The Biggest Loser.  Two new comedies, Bad Judge, starring Kate Walsh, and A to Z, featuring the charming Cristin Milioti, follow it, at least until The Blacklist moves in the spring.  Parenthood will return for an abbreviated 13 episode final season.  Fridays see a new adaptation of DC’s Constantine, one that will hopefully make everyone forget about the Keanu Reeves film.

Not on the schedule yet are the final season of Parks and Recreation and a third season of Hannibal, plus new shows including Mr. Robinson, starring Craig Robinson as a musician forced to work as a substitute teacher, One Big Happy, a comedy starring Elisha Cuthbert as a gay woman who decides to have a baby with her best friend, right before he falls for a new woman, Emerald City, a miniseries re-imagining characters from The Wizard of Oz, and, of course, the previously announced Heroes Reborn.

There doesn’t appear to be much that I will be watching on NBC in the fall, and even less once Parenthood comes to an end.  I may end up trying some of the new shows, and hopefully they will be worth the effort.

by jim

Devin Hester, You Were Ridiculous

devin-hester.22For the second time in as many off-seasons, the Bears have decided to cut ties with one of their all-time greats, announcing that they will not attempt to resign Devin Hester for the upcoming season.  Drafted in the second round of the 2006 draft, Hester quickly made an impact, returning a punt for a touchdown in his first game and recording six touchdowns over his first thirteen weeks.  As the Bears made their first Super Bowl appearance since their victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl XX, Hester returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown.

The following season, in an attempt to exploit his explosiveness, the Bears moved Hester from cornerback to wide receiver.  After returning both a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns in week 12 against the Broncos, Hester, in less than 2 seasons, became the leading kick returner in Bears history.

In 2011, Hester became the NFL’s all time leading punt returner after breaking Eric Metcalf’s record with a TD return against the Panthers.  Two years later, Hester returned a punt 81 yards for his 19th career return touchdown, tieing Deion Sanders for the NFL record.

Yesterday, Hester announced that, despite his desire to retire as a Bear, he would not be returning for a 9th season.  The Bears confirmed the news today, and they will once again head in to a season without one of their franchise stars.  Last season, their first without Brian Urlacher, the defense fell apart, causing them to once again miss the playoffs.  Hopefully they can do a better job in replacing Hester and his production.

by admin

A Legend Retires

011209bears_urlacherAfter 13 years in the middle of the Bears defense, and less than 3 months after a messy divorce left him as a free agent looking for a new home, Brian Urlacher announced his retirement yesterday.  Urlacher played 182 regular-season games over those 13 seasons and led the team to their second Super Bowl appearance following the 2006 season.  Urlacher missed significant time due to injury in the 2009, 2011, and 2012 seasons, and, days before his 35th birthday, he said in his announcement that he was “sore” and “tired of working out.”

While the Bears had already moved on without Urlacher, it will be nice to not have him play out his career in some strange uniform, as many others have done before him.  Only six Bears have had a longer Bears career without having played anywhere else: Hall of Famers Walter Payton and Bulldog Turner, Doug Buffone, Jim Osborne, Keith Van Horne, and the long snapper supreme Pat Mannelly.