The Morning Delivery

Remembering How NFL Championships Were Settled

One week ago, when the NFL announced that Super Bowl XLVIII would be played at New Meadowlands Stadium on February 2, 2014, a battalion of fans and members of the media grew incensed over how this new open field venue could potentially impact the outcome of the game, especially if it was determined by mercilessly cold weather conditions.

According to meteorologists from the Weather Channel, the weather in New York/New Jersey for the Super Bowl will be a nippy 39 degrees with a chance of snow. This has already sparked some sharp grumbling, such as from ESPN’s Mike Golic, who doesn’t want to see a Super Bowl decided by wind, snow, and ``lots of bad weather.’’ Golic’s reasoning is that the Super Bowl should be a neutral-site, and inclement weather could tip the advantage to teams accustomed to playing in cold wintry-like weather conditions, such as Chicago, Pittsburgh, or Green Bay.

It might be worthwhile reminding critics like Golic that the NFL was around long before the arrival of the Super Bowl in 1967, when championships were once decided under bitterly cold weather conditions with snow, ice, and freezing rain frequently mixed in.

So to get a better sense of how championships were decided before the Super Bowl, I dipped into the archives of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, and The Plain Dealer in Cleveland in order to find examples of the unforgiving elements players battled before claiming the right to be called champions.

December 9, 1934: Playing in near zero temperatures, with biting winds, the field a sheet of thick ice, the New York Giants overcame a 10-point deficit entering the final quarter to win the national championship against the undefeated Chicago Bears, 30-13, in one of the frostiest of days at the Polo Grounds with Casey Stengel and Mickey Cochrane in attendance.

Outside the football field, temperatures in New York dropped to 11 degrees, the coldest of the year; one person was found frozen to death under the Williamsburg Bridge; two others, both homeless, were treated for frost bite.

The Giants success in scoring 30 points in the 4th quarter despite the slick field conditions was accomplished in no small part by replacing their cleats with basketball shoes (courtesy of Manhattan College) as backup Giant quarterback Ed Danowski regained his footing enough to connect on a 28-yard pass to Ike Frankian, while NYU star Ken Strong ran for two touchdowns: one for 42 yards, the other an 11-yard dash.

Danowski ran for yet another Giants score to secure a brilliant comeback best remembered as ``The Sneakers Game’’

December 15, 1935: Neither rain, nor sleet, not even blowing snow could keep 15,000 adoring fans away from Dinan Field in Detroit see the Detroit Lions crush the New York Giants, 26-7 on a muddy field to give the Motor City its first professional football championship.

Despite miserable field conditions, Dutch Clark, Ace Gutowsky, Ernie Caddell and Buddy Parker of the Lions, hands nearly frozen, braved the harsh elements to rush for a combined  235 yards with each scoring a touchdown. The Giants only score came in the third quarter.

1935 turned out to be a perfect year for the Motor City. Prior to the Lions winning the title, the Detroit Tigers won their first World Series at Navin Field; and four months later, the Detroit Red Wing won the Stanley Cup.

December 16, 1945: With hard punishing winds whipping off Lake Erie, snow swirling and the temperature just above zero, Jim Gillette, Don Greenwood and Fred Gehrke of the Cleveland Rams powered their way through the Washington Redskins line for 180 yards to secure a 15-14 win and claim their first (and only) national football championship before 32, 178 freezing fans at Cleveland Stadium.

Despite playing with hands nearly frozen in the biting cold, on a field likened to that of a hockey rink, ``Big’’ Jim Benton and Gillette pulled in passes from Rams’ rookie quarterback Bob Waterfield, who connected on 14 passes for the day.

Considered the coldest game in the NFL since 1933, fans were wrapped tightly in blankets, galoshes, and ear muffs.

December 19, 1948: As luck would have it, the 1948 NFL championship game in which the Philadelphia Eagles unseated the Chicago Cardinals 7-0 was played during Philadelphia’s worst storm of the year with a game time temperature of 27.

Despite the poor weather conditions, 28, 864 fans braved the severe elements and were appropriately rewarded with their first national championship.

Shibe Park was blanketed with snow, causing the start of the game to be delayed for 30 minutes as work crews worked tirelessly to remove heaps of snow from the tarpaulins. The playing field, so thick with snow and visibility impaired by a spray of blinding white-outs that the chains used to mark forward progress became a matter of mere speculation.

Players soldiered on ankle-deep in snow.

Both the Cardinals and Eagles known for their deep aerial assaults were limited to five completions between them, which became an odd twist in itself since everyone was anticipating a high-scoring shoot-out.

The players’ cleated high-tops, however, the only saving grace for the day, benefited both teams as they remarkably managed to keep their footing while trudging through the snow.

Only two of the 13 punts during the day were caught cleanly without the ball slipping through the players hands.

Not until the fourth quarter did Steve Van Buren, who rushed for 98 yards on 26 carries, cross the goal line to break the scoreless game and give the Eagles the NFL title in a epic battle that would go down in history as the ``Snow Bowl’’

December 30, 1962:  With freezing temperatures and winds gusting up to 40 mph, the Green Bay Packers beat the New York Giants, 16-7, to capture their second consecutive NFL title in front of a capacity crowd of 64,892 at Yankee Stadium.

The Packers cause was helped to a great extent by three Jerry Kramer field goals of 26, 29, and 30 yards, while Giants quarterback Y.A. Tittle hampered by cold piercing winds was surrounded by a dominant Packer line of Bill Quinlan, Willie Davis, and blitzing linebacker Ray Nitschke, who smothered two fumbles that resulted in Packer scores.

The Packers tore through the Giants line; Jim Taylor, all 215-pounds of him, rumbled for 85 yards on 14 carries; and combined with rushes from Paul Hornung and Tom Moore, ``the Bays’’ racked up a total of 148 rushing yards for the day.

The only Giant score came in final quarter when Jim Collier picked up a fumble in the end zone.

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]

Baseball Has a Language All Its Own

If you’re not familiar with the following terms: ``blue darter``dead mackerel’; ``cement mixer’’ ``whangdoodle’’, or the ``tools of ignorance’’ and you consider yourself a baseball fan-no better time than the present (especially with Opening Day fast approaching) to dip into the ``Dickson Baseball Dictionary’’ (W.W. Norton & Company), now in its 3rd edition with twice as many entries since the last edition

The dictionary is now a robust 974 pages, which includes 10,000 entries and over 18, 000 definitions detailing current, archaic, and colloquial terms associated with the great American pastime stretching back to the 19th century.

Far from being a coffee table book clogging up space, the ``Baseball Dictionary’’ is as indispensable as the ``American Heritage Dictionary’’, ``William Safire’s Political Dictionary’’ and the ``Oxford English Dictionary. ‘’

It’s particularly valuable for discovering when a particular expression gained currency. It wasn’t that long ago, for example, when I wondered who first used the term``walk-off home-run.’’ I took a peek into Dickson’s dictionary, and sure enough, I learned Dennis Eckersley coined the term on July 30, 1988.

Reached at his Maryland home, Paul Dickson, the author of the dictionary, tells me over 400 baseball fans, scholars, researchers, and other information junkies (mostly volunteers) have helped him immensely tracking down the historic origins of these phrases.

The Yonkers, N.Y.native, and author of nearly 50 books, including ``Baseball’s Greatest Quotations’’, the`` Hidden Language of Baseball’’, and the ``Joy of Keeping Score’’ said it was fairly easy getting people to help with his project.

Similar to the fictional character Tom Sawyer convincing friends to whitewash the fence for him after they discover how much fun he was having, Dickson tells me chuckling, others find it challenging and are more than willing to help dig up the birth of a baseball expression.

And speaking of Tom Sawyer being forced to ``whitewash’’ the fence by his Aunt Polly as punishment for playing hooky from school, the term ``whitewash’ is listed in Dickson’s Baseball Dictionary’’; the most popular usage is to prevent another team from scoring, a phrase first coined by Henry Chadwick in his 1868 classic, ``The Game of Baseball’’ (p. 46).

What convinced Dickson to assemble a dictionary of baseball terms was sparked several years ago when he was attending a baseball game with his children. Dickson found himself under siege from his inquisitive children about how different parts of the field first got their name, like the dugout, clubhouse, etc. Unable to supply his curious children with an authoritative answer, Dickson soon landed at the public library, thinking there surely must be a book that chronicles the origins of baseball terms, only to discover no such book existed.

Like a bolt of lightening, an idea for a book was launched.

Dickson started slowly, first going through the alphabet thinking of baseball terms that needed to be defined. Before too long, he started recruiting experts in different fields of the game, many of whom included former umpires, baseball beat writers, top statistical experts, writers familiar with Spanish terms, and others who made it their vocation reading sport pages, especially 19th century sports pages.
 
It wasn’t long after that before Dickson had enough terms to put together a dictionary made up exclusively of baseball terms. The first baseball dictionary was published in 1989. And the list keeps growing. Dickson tells me he just received a letter for someone wondering why ``sponge finger’’ (the foam decorative hand glove worn at stadiums) wasn’t in the dictionary. The new edition, among other novelties, keeps up with the changing times of the game by adding entries for: ``greenie’’ ``steroids’’, ``inter-league play’’ ``contraction’’, ``sabermetrics’’ (analyzing the game through statistics) and ``mojo’’. Dickson says, among other new terms, he is working on a name for the new Yankee Stadium. ``The House that Juice Built’’ is being kicked around as one possibility.

 Most beneficial (especially to researchers) about ``Dickson’s Baseball Dictionary’’ are that most citations list the date when the term was first used, including the publication believed to have used it first.
The expression ``Baltimore chop’’, for example, meaning a ball hit into the ground in front of home plate, only to bounce high in the air allowing the hitter to reach base, was first used on June 16th, 1906 by the Boston Daily, when they wrote ``[Joe] Kelly netted a high bouncing bingle in old-fashioned Baltimore chop.’’

Like any other mountainous historic undertaking, though, the roots of a term aren’t always exact. Dickson said he occasionally hears from baseball fans in a ``gotcha!’’ moment to inform him they came across a term three months prior to the citation listed in his dictionary.

In addition to its original use, the ``Baseball Dictionary’’ chronicles how a word or expression gradually grew in popularity over time. To put on a ``rally cap’’ (a baseball cap put on  backwards or inside out), a term which gained prominence with the New York Mets, Houston Astros, and Boston Red Sox during the 1986 season, was actually a tradition that began with the University of Texas in the late 1970’s.

In this age of political correctness with polished sentence structure, free of jargon, and overused slang the order of the day, its comforting to note, as Dickson does in the forward of the book, that baseball for the most part has maintained a language all its own, or as one sportswriter labeled it: ``the incorrect use of correct words’’

Baseball fans relish tales of the many Yogism’s (``I didn’t really say everything I said’’, ``It ain’t over until its over’’’)  and Deanisms (``Players returned to their respectable bases’’,  ``The doctors X-rayed my head and found nothing’’), as well as invoking their colloquial language during a course of a game: free pass, curtain caller, chin music, dinger, gapper,  heater,  toeing the rubber,  small ball, sweet part of the bat, the high cheese, a looker, and seeing-eye single. These phrases might not be familiar to the casual outsider, but to fans of the game—these are words that have a natural ring to the ear.

Dickson points out that when Call Ripken Jr was honored as one of the 100 greatest players of the 20th Century at the 1999 All-Star Game with the likes of Ted Williams, and Carlton Fisk, the shortstop thought how cool it was that the language of baseball transcends different eras. ``We talked baseball’’, Ripken told The Boston Herald ``with the same dimensions and strike zones.’’

Thanks to Dickson, and his marvelous battalion of contributors, baseball terms, its historic roots, and forgotten slang are scrupulously researched and accurately recorded with the aim of keeping alive its rich storied tradition, much like two other great American traditions: Rock n’ Roll music and the U.S. Constitution.

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]

A selection of baseball terms from ``The Dickson Baseball Dictionary’’

Balance the Budget: When a team ties the score.
Vin Scully is thought to have been the first to use this phrase during the 1989 All-Star game.

Bug Bruiser:  A term used when a batter scorches a ball; first used by the Chicago Inter-Ocean on July 7, 1874

Can of Corn:  Easily caught ball, especially when a fielder has plenty of time to settle under a ball before it lands in his glove.
The term was coined by Burt Standish in ``Frank Merriwells Schooldays, published in 1896; and is derived from the old grocery store setting, when a grocer used a long stick to nudge an item off a shelf that couldn’t be reached with bare hands.

Carve nicks in the weather: Swinging at a pitch without making contact.
This phrase first appeared in the American Magazine on June, 1912

Doozy Marooney: Pittsburgh Pirates broadcaster Rosey Rowswell often used this phrase when a ball was belted for extra bases. ``The old dooozy marooney.

Drive the Yellow Bus: An outstanding performance turned in by a pitcher who took the hitters to school.

Fandango: A strikeout

Go for a Bagel: When a batter goes hitless at the plate.
The Boston Globe first used this term on August 11, 1997.

Poisoned Bat:  A dangerous hitter steps to the plate.

Pound the Air: To take a hard cut at a ball without making contact, a term that first appeared in Baseball Magazine on October, 1908

Pretzel Bender: The N.Y. Evening Journal first used this term on April 18, 1908 to describe a curveball

Stick a Fork in Him: When a pitcher is about to be pulled by the manager.
This term, first used in Baseball Digest, on May, 1959, gets its name from the culinary practice of sticking a fork in a turkey to determine if its done or not.

Whiz Chuck:  When a pitcher delivers a hard thrown ball with velocity; first appeared in the N.Y. Evening Journal on August 21, 1908.

Ranking the NCAA in the Classroom as well as on the Court

Have you finished filling out your brackets for the NCAA Tournament?

If you haven’t, time is of the essence. Tip-off is Thursday, just a shade past noon (EST) when Florida takes on BYU in Oklahoma.

That’s when all the madness begins. Will a No. 1 seed go down earlier than you expected, screwing up your bracket; do you have Duke going far enough or much too far?

Will President Obama repeat in picking the NCAA champion correctly? He was right in selecting North Carolina last year; this year, 44 likes Kansas, while predicting a first round upset for Siena over Purdue.

Whenever I feast my eyes on the tournament, and see the gripping athleticism alongside the cheerleaders and the students whooping it up and getting crazy—I often wonder how much actual school work gets done at these colleges and universities, especially the players?   Are basketball players really expected to attend lectures for classes like British Lit or Bio & Man, when they’re are out on the floor busting their behinds for their schools?

Well, yes, at least according Jim Marchiony, Associate Athletics Director of External Relations at the University of Kansas, who informs me most definitely the faculty [at Kansas] does not lower its standards come tournament time -- or any other time’’.  ``Faculty members’’, Marchiony writes in an email,  ``expect members of the basketball team to complete the same work they expect their classmates to complete.’’

Marchiony additionally enlightened me that an academic advisor travels with the Jayhawks basketball team throughout the season, including the tournament, and regular study seasons are held. Fortuntatley for Kansas, like many of the participating schools, they are on spring break, which helps lighten the players load during the early rounds.

But the premium The University of Kansas places on academics has paid huge dividends.  Inside Higher Education, as they have the previous four years, recently evaluated teams according to their academic progress rate and selected Kansas as the national champions, edging out Duke in the championship game.

***

To get ready for the tournament, what follows are some Cliff Notes (compliments of the NCAA press office) on the history of the tournament.

• The first NCAA Tournament game was held on March 17, 1939, when Villanova defeated Brown, 42-30 in Philadelphia.

• The first televised championship game came on March 26, 1946, when WCBS-TV in New York broadcast Oklahoma defeating North Carolina 43-40 with an estimated 500,000 tuning in. The first nationally televised championship game didn't come until 1954 for a broadcast fee of $7,500

• Bob Kurland of Oklahoma State was the first player to dunk a basketball in a NCAA tournament on March 26, 1946

• 1952 was the first year there were four regional sites.

• On March 15, 1958, Cincinnati’s Oscar Robertson scored 56 points against Arkansas, making him the first player to rack up more than 50 points in a tournament game.

• Terry Baker of Oregon State (in 1963) was the first Heisman Trophy winner to play in the Final Four

• The first to win the tournament in his first year as coach was Ed Jucker of Cincinnati in 1961.

• Beginning in 1953, the bracket was expanded from 16 to 22 teams and fluctuated between 22 and 25 teams until 1974. The field was expanded to 32 teams beginning in 1975.

• The first seeding process was adopted in 1978.

• The brackets were expanded to 40 teams in 1979, then 48 teams in 1980

• The first time none of the No. 1 seeds failed to advance to the Final Four was in 1980

• In 1985, the brackets were expanded to 64 teams, eliminating first-round byes

• Ed Chay of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland coined the term ``Final Four’’ when it appeared for the first time on page five of a NCAA publication: ``The 1975 Official Collegiate Basketball ‘’

• In 1994, Bill Clinton became the first sitting U.S. president to attend a tournament when he attended the Midwest regional championship game in Dallas, where he saw Arkansas win the title.

• 1996: The NCAA created the first online computer page for the men’s basketball championship.

• 1999: NCAA signs an 11-year broadcasting agreement with CBS.

• 2005: CBS arranges a deal with CSTV.com for exclusive Internet video streaming for out-of-market game coverage of the first 58 games of the tournament.

• 2008: For the first time in tournament history, all four No. 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four.

• 2009: Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to fill out a bracket on national television with ESPN’s Andy Katz

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]

Source: NCAA

Looking For the Best Baseball Blogs on the Web?

Now that the Winter Olympics are behind us, baseball fans (and especially fantasy baseball fans) will soon begin checking in on their favorite Major League Baseball teams and players to see how they’re coming along in Florida and Arizona.

With the Internet, and in particular, blogosphere monopolizing practically ever phase of our daily reading habits, I decided to venture deep into the recesses of the Web, hoping to come up with some of the best baseball blogs available from coast-to-coast.

Here is what I was able to find.

One of the most popular baseball blogs is mlbtraderumors.com, a site not affiliated with Major League Baseball, but rather maintained by Tim Dierkes, a die-hard Cubs’ fan and resident of Roselle, Illinois.

Trade Rumors (more or less aggregated news) links to noteworthy and timely baseball news from a variety of leading U.S. newspapers, archives trade rumors by individual teams, informs readers of contract negotiations and even lets fans know what beat writers, like Joel Sherman of the N.Y. Post are tweeting about.

Another must read baseball blog is Joe Posnanski, a Cleveland native and senior writer at Sports Illustrated, who regularly posts interesting notes (not all baseball related), typically dealing with some obscure footnotes that he didn’t have room to fit into his regular SI column. Posnanski, for instance, shares with readers meeting legendary NFL broadcaster Al Michaels for the first time, who reveals to Posnanski his favorite all-time baseball game, along with his life long love affair with baseball, beginning at an early age, growing up in Brooklyn in a neighborhood just around the corner from Ebbett’s Field.

Major League Baseball maintains blogs by all their beat writers, which is regularly updated with spring training news and which players are fighting for positions, such as word that Mike Lowell is spending a lot of time at first base, presumably to increase his market value.

MLB also features MSNBC Keith Olbermann’s reflections on baseball; that is, when the liberal talking head isn’t exchanging blows with the likes of Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.

If you took a random survey with baseball fans on a``must read blog’’; ESPN’s Buster Onley’s  would more than likely top the list. Onley, a senior writer for ESPN Magazine, who has been covering baseball since 1989, regularly maintains up-to-date baseball news; he seems particularly plugged into trade rumors and gives readers insight on what ‘s taking place at spring training with direct quotes from managers and players.

NOTE: Unfortunately, Onley’s blog is so popular; users will have to pass through a toll booth on ESPN’s Website, which costs $3.33 a month, and includes a one-year subscription to ESPN, the magazine.

ESPN additionally maintains  a wide collection of spring training blogs by staff writers, who file daily updates on individual teams from Florida and Arizona.

Also at ESPN is the ``SweetSpot Blog Network’’ which made its debut during the 2009 baseball playoffs with posts from Rob Neyer, a senior writer at ESPN.com , along with a team of other writers who report the latest MLB news. Right now, ``SweetSpot’’ is limited to six teams (accessible through a drop-down menu): the Red Sox, Dodgers, Twins, Yankees, Phillies, and Cardinals; but an ESPN spokesperson tells me there are plans to expand their coverage.

Yahoo takes great pride with its ``Big League Stew, which is ranked the 5th best blog by Ballhype.com, In addition to timely player and team news from spring training, ``Big League Stew’’ regularly posts interesting items about the business of baseball, such as a post on Friday, which reported MLB grossed a record $6.6 billion in 2009, a rare success story during the Great Recession.

 NBC Sports and Rotoworld have joined forces with ``Hardball Talk'', a wildly popular blog that used to be known as ``Circling the Bases’’ before being renamed. The blog is maintained by Craig Calcaterra, a lawyer and former District Attorney from Columbus, Ohio, who said goodbye to the dusty legal briefs to write full-time for NBC from the comfort of his home. Nice work if you can get it.

 Fox Sports, meanwhile, showcases its ``Baseball Buzz’’ blog,  which a Fox spokesperson said became an instant hit when it launched during the free agency period.

 And in a new feature, Fox Sports rolls out ``GM Corner” with Jim Bowden  who will conduct interviews with some of  baseball’s top brass on issues they confront every day, like the first installment, which deals with arbitration cases.

 Popular FS writers Ken Rosenthal and John Paul Morosi are back providing expert analysis and updates from both the Junior and Senior circuits.

 Another popular baseball blog making noise on the Web, is CBS Sports’ Scott Miller’s ``Bull Pennings’’   His signature ``Likes and Dislikes’’ at the end of each post is a nice touch, as is his``Rock 'N' Roll Lyric of the Day’’

 And for those statistical junkies and fantasy baseball participants, you might be interested to know that CBS Sports has teamed with Tableau Software (a leading provider of fast analytics and data visualization software) where fantasy baseball players on CBSSports.com will have access to a variety of interactive data visualizations, reports and analytics around fantasy baseball, making it possible to scrutinize numbers closer than ever before.

 If you’re preparing for fantasy baseball, you won’t want to miss John Sucich’s column, who provides spring training roundups, players to watch, and division by division analysis and notes.

Finally, curtain calls for the most innovative name for a blog, belongs to Peter Schmuck's ``The Schmuck Stops Here'' from The Baltimore Sun, who provides readers with short bite size, but always informative, slices of information on professional sports in Baltimore, including the Orioles.

 After spending the last couple days searching for the best baseball blogs on the Web and getting recommendations from other experts, I can now see why the newspaper industry is struggling the way that it is. 

How can print newspapers possibly compete with this high-speed analysis, team updates at the blink of an eye, along with all these other online stastical bells and whistles found on so many Websites?

It didn’t seem all that long ago when I used to have to call a 1-800 number for baseball updates, stay glued to the bottom of my television screen for ticker updates on ESPN, or wait for the morning newspaper, hoping it got the West Coast and extra-inning games in on time.\

However much the Internet has changed our daily newspaper habits, I still have too much respect for so many seasoned baseball writers to give up on them, even with the glut of information available on the Web.

In particular, I read with great regularity, Paul Hoynes and Terry Pluto from The Plain Dealer in Cleveland; Dan Shaughnessy and Bob Ryan from the Boston Globe; Yankees and Mets coverage from The New York Times , The N.Y. Daily News;  from the N.Y. Post,  Joel Sherman’s ``Hardball’’  and Mike Vaccaro’s ``Vac’s Whacks’’

 For those living in the Northeast and enduring this miserably cold snow-filled winter, remember Opening Day is only 35 days away;  maybe just the thought of it might warm your heart and lift your spirits.

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
 

Mourning the Loss of Memorable Super Bowl Commercials

 

 Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but it seems the Super Bowl commercials that used to be hyped as cultural and entertaining events, have been getting more forgettable and blander every year.

Judging from the pathetic batch of commercials that aired on Sunday, you would never know that some of the most powerful marketing firms spend in excess of $100 million on Super Bowl ads; while major companies start working on next year’s Super Bowl commercial the day after the Super Bowl.

If someone held a gun to my head today, and asked me to name my favorite Super Bowl commercial from this year, I would quite honestly have to tell the person to go ahead and pull the trigger.

I thought the whole point of a Super Bowl commercial (with over 100 million worldwide viewers tuned in) was to generate water cooler talk the next day; and make the brand so ingrained in people’s minds—it would be hard to forget.

If you’re old enough, the very mention of Brother Dominic and Xerox, automatically calls to mind memories of the corpulent monk in the hollow dank monastery, carrying a bundle of manuscripts to a print copier salesperson with the mournful plea: ``Can you do a big job for me.’’?

Soon after that Xerox Super Bowl commercial ran in 1977, Brother Dominic became a household name. I can’t imagine many viewers who saw that ad struggling to name which product the diminitutive Franciscan was endorsing.

Another unforgettable commercial that remains tucked away in my memory was the famous Coca-Cola commercial that ran on January 16, 1972 during Super Bowl VI, when a sea of inhabitants representing various countries and cultures from all walks of life, gathered at a hillside near Rome and formed a pyramid, while signing ``I’d like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company… I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony’’

Those memorable lyrics, with a clear message of ``peace and harmony’’, was written by Bill Backer, creative director for the McCann-Erickson advertising agency, while stranded at an airport in Ireland. The tempers of annoyed passengers stranded at an airport were only cooled when they gathered at the airport café to share their miserable experiences with others while sipping on a beverage, a Coca-Cola. Backer jotted the lyrics down on a napkin, and the rest is history. The 60 second spot, by the way, was produced for $225,000.

Of course, the Super Bowl commercial which had the greatest impact and is still talked about the most was an ad that only ran once. It came during the third quarter of  Super Bowl XVIII in 1984, when Apple Computer hired a well known English director and producer, Ridley Scott, director of Alien (1979), Blade Runner (1982), Thelma & Louise (1991), and Gladiator (2000), among others, with a $900,00 budget to produce a 60 second commercial on the introduction of the company’s Macintosh computer.

The commercial was modeled on George Orwell’s classic novel, ``1984’’ in which a ``Big Brother’’ authoritative image was commanding clone-like members walking into the chamber in goose step fashion to conform to conventional standards. A female athlete then lurches toward the Big Brother image, shattering it with a sledgehammer. The commercial ended with the words: ``On January 24, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like 1984.’’

In addition to its mesmerizing influence, the Apple commercial aroused a powerful liberating response with viewers and struck a deep emotional cord; one of the many reasons the commercial is still talked about to this day.

Not all commercials, of course, had to channel such profound themes in order for them to be effective or memorable. Humor works pretty well, a concept largely ignored this year.

Remember Miss Piggy in 1997, dressed in a low-cut black evening dress who became mesmerized by a handsome young man; that is until he made the mistake of trying to eat Miss Piggy’s Baked Lay’s potato chips.

Another amusing Super Bowl commercial came during a Federal Express commercial in 1999, when the entire Detroit Red Wings hockey team were anxiously waiting for the Stanley Cup to arrive. When the box did arrive, shock sets in when they discovered burro food had been sent to them by mistake, while their prized trophy was headed to the South American country of Bolivia. The commercial ended with the sage advice: ``When you need to get something delivered, go with Federal Express.’’

Capitalizing on tragedy or an individual’s handicap, albeit with a touch of class, worked pretty well for Diet Pepsi in 1990, when singer Ray Charles took part in the ``Ultimate Blind Taste Test.’’   10 years later, the E*Trade Group sparked some definite water cooler chatter with the brilliant ``Wazoo commercial’’ in which a patient is rushed through a busy emergency room. The doctor, after having examined the patient’s derriere, says he has money coming out of his Wazoo. The patient is immediately whisked away to a private room.

So after being greeted to a heavy barrage of mindless, unimaginative and forgettable Super Bowl commercials; from a Sumu wrestler, a man taunting a dog with Doritos; office workers without pants, to Denny’s overworked chickens, I long for the days when Super Bowl commercials presented creativity, humor, and came with a clear message that remained etched in your mind.

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]

A Brief History of Super Bowl Sunday at the White House

If there is one universal criticism of President Obama’s cool controlled management style, it’s that he appears too detached, acting more like a law professor inspiring his students, never giving vent to his anger or leaping for joy when such emotions might warrant it.

You might be curious, then, if the presidents’ cool indifference is in play on Super Bowl Sunday?

On the surface, it seems like it is. When questioned by ABC’s Diane Sawyer, Mr. Obama said both the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints were terrific teams, but was pulling for the Saints ``partly because’’ Obama told Sawyer, ``when I think about what’s happened to New Orleans over the last several years and how much that team means to them…I’m pretty sympathetic.’’

A typical calm cool as cucumber Obama response

But during last year’s Super Bowl, Obama displayed no such tranquility According to the Washington Post, the president openly rooted for the Pittsburgh Steelers to defeat the Arizona Cardinals and leapt to his feet when Steelers’ linebacker James Harrison sprinted the length of the field for a touchdown just before halftime, telling Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pennsylvania) sitting next to him, ``what do you think about that!’’

Now, perhaps, that’s the kind of unbridled emotion the American people are looking for from their president.

U.S. Presidents and Super Bowls lack a rich tradition equal to the World Series. In fact, no sitting president has ever attended a Super Bowl. The closest came in 1985 during Super Bowl XIX, when President Reagan tossed the coin via satellite from the Oval Office. Vice President George H.W. Bush did attend Super Bowl XVI in Detroit on January 24, 1982, when the San Francisco 49ers narrowly defeated the Cincinnati Bengals; while former presidents Bill Clinton and Bush (the elder), participated in FOX Sports Pregame Super Bowl show in 2005 in Jacksonville Fla.
Former President Jimmy Carter, according to Greg Aiello, NFL spokesperson has also attended a Super Bowl after leaving office.

President Nixon, a part-time Florida resident, openly rooted for the Miami Dolphins during Super Bowl VI, he even phoned in a play to Don Shula (a-down-and in); but changed allegiance the following year, when the Dolphins returned to the Super Bowl to face the Washington Redskins.  ``I always root for the home team’’ Mr. Nixon told The New York Times. ``And my home now is in Washington.’’

During Super Bowl XIII in 1979, President Jimmy Carter put his money where his mouth is by placing a $5 bet with Miss Lillian, his mother, that the Cowboys would beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. Carter lost that bet.

In 1993, President Clinton scheduled his first official dinner on Super Bowl Sunday, bringing together the nation’s governors, including Texas Gov Ann Richards and New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, both of whom had more than a passing interest in Super Bowl XXVII, with the Dallas Cowboys squaring off against the Buffalo Bills.

President Clinton invited the Rev. Jesse Jackson to the White House in 1998, soon after the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke to watch the Super Bowl at the White House Family Theater and seek his spiritual guidance, along with his advice on his upcoming State of the Union address. Jackson strongly advised the president not to mention the scandal in his speech. ``Hold on to the sides of the boat until the morning cometh’’ Jackson told the president ``because the storms will pass over.’’

No one can accuse former President George W. Bush of hiding his emotions during a football game In January, 2002, while watching a playoff game between the Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens, the president stood up and cheered, only to choke on a pretzel, falling face-first to the ground. Bush fainted after a decrease of blood pressure, but quickly recovered and reportedly peeked in on the rest of the game.

That presidential swoon may have been a harbinger of the yet unknown future.

The following year, two months before invading Iraq (2003), Mr. Bush invited Kanan Makiya, an Iraqi exile, and a staunch critic of the Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship to the White House to watch Super Bowl XXVII

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]

 Super Bowl Footnotes:

• The winning team of this year’s Super Bowl will each receive $83,000; $42,000 will be awarded to members of the losing team. The winning share for Super Bowl I, by comparison, was $15,000 for the winner and $7,500 for members of the losing team.

• The Vince Lombardi Trophy, a regulation-size silver football mounted in a kicking position on a pyramid stand of three conclave sides, stands 20.75 inches tall, weighs 107.3 ounces and is valued in excess of $25,000.

• The Indianapolis Colts representing the AFC are considered the home team during this year’s Super Bowl and will occupy the South sideline, giving them the option of wearing their traditional blue jersey’s if the so desire..

• Ticket Prices: for Super Bowl XLIV sold for: $1,000, $900,$800, $500
In Super Bowl I, tickets were:  $12, $10, and $6

• A Roman numeral to designate a Super Bowl wasn’t officially adopted until Super Bowl V.

• Next year’s Super Bowl will take place in North Texas at the Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium.

• Super Bowl XLIII, on February 1, 2009 between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals was watched by an estimated 151,600,000 viewers.

• A 30-second adversiment during this year’s Super Bowl was selling for between $2.6 to $3 million dollars

• 21.5 million people will throw Super Bowl parties; 9.9 million will watch the game in bars and restaurants

• According to National Restaurant Association, 15 percent of Americans order takeout on Super Bowl Sunday, 58 percent of those order pizza, 50 percent chicken wings and 20 percent subs and sandwiches.

• More than 4500 media credentials have been issued for this year’s Super Bowl

• 230 countries and territories will televise this year’s Super Bowl

• The New York Giants, winner of Super Bowl XXI (1987) finished last the following season in the NFC Eastern Division with a 6-9 record. The Denver Broncos met a similar fate, after winning Super Bowl XXXIII (1999), finishing last the following year in the AFC Western Division with a 6-10 record.

• The coldest Super Bowl in Miami was a chilly 57 degrees during Super Bowl X on January 18, 1976. The coldest recorded Super Bowl was in New Orleans on January 16, 1972, registering a frosty 39 degrees.

• The first well known musical star to perform at halftime didn’t come until Super Bowl III (1969) when Carol Channing performed. The tradition of booking a mega musical star, however, didn’t really kickoff until Super Bowl XXVII, when the former king of pop, Michael Jackson, performed at halftime with 3,500 local children, the same year O.J. Simpson participated in the pregame coin toss ceremony.

Source: NFL Media Relations

If Obama Gets a B+; What Grade Does Eric Mangini Deserve?

Sometime Tuesday on a cold blustery day in Northeast Ohio, Cleveland Browns’ head coach Eric Mangini will know his future.

Will he go; or will he stay? Of course, that’s entirely up to the organization’s new president, Mike Holmgren, who will meet with the Browns coach to decide whether this woeful 5-11 team needs a new leader; or whether he’ll tell Mangini his late-season surge, winning the last four games of the season, including a shocking win over their arch-rival Pittsburgh Steelers, convinced him that he deserves another year to stay put and continue working his magic next season.

One way or another it’s report card time for Mangini.

President Obama, after a year on the job, and leading the nation through a gloomy bank collapse, record unemployment and a housing crisis, thought he managed the domestic hurricane skillfully enough to merit a B+.

Some considered such a high grade a bit too inflated; others thought given what the president was handed when he entered the White House—a B+ is just about right.

Now it’s Mangini’s turn. Similar to Obama, the New York Jets former head coach inherited one holy mess.

When he took over, the Browns had lost 40 games over their last four seasons; they were 0-8 against the Steelers, and failed to make the playoffs under head coach Romeo Crennel. Worse still, the Browns appallingly dropped the last six games of the 2008 season without ever scoring an offensive touchdown.

As the Browns began the 2009 season, there were no lofty expectations like there was after the team finished with a promising 10-6 record in 2007, which prompted the NFL to schedule five nationally televised games in 2008 with the Browns.

There were no such high expectations this year. Far from it. In fact, in its season preview, Sports Illustrated wrote: ``It'll take a Mangenius to fix all the mistakes by the lake.’’

The Plain Dealer sports writers weren’t expecting any miracles either ``2009 will be another tough season for Cleveland Browns’’ read the PD’s headlines on September 12th, 2009, with three of the five writers predicting Cleveland would finish with a 6-10 record.

Obama, remember, by some political scorecards, is being given high marks after a year in which the national unemployment rate is still hovering around 10 percent, housing prices expected to fall another 10 percent in 2010, and in spite of most economists predicting the chance of a robust economic recovery this year slim at best.

So if a president as competent as Barack Obama couldn’t turn a dismal economy around in a year and still earn the support of the majority of Americans, shouldn’t we extend the same kind of patience to a head coach after a season of coaching one of the sorriest franchises in the NFL?

Finishing the season with a 5-11 record, may not look impressive on paper; and maybe it’s not. Mary Kay Cabot, the Browns beat writer for The Plain Dealer gives the head coach a disappointing C.

Still, its practically miraculous how the Browns turned from rags to riches in a blink of an eye, just when fans had given up all hope-including watching playmaker Josh Cribbs sprint the length of the field, not once but twice- first for 100 yards, the next quarter for 103 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs on December 20th, while Jerome Harrison finished the season with three consecutive 100-yard rushing performances, something no Brown has been able to accomplish since 2004.

And Mangini and Co. were able to beat Big Ben and Co. (the Steelers) for the first time since 2003, and keep their rivals from the playoffs.

When pressed by reporters on what his future holds, Mangini said with equanimity that he was proud of the job he and the Browns have done.

I have to agree.

After all, ``it’s not how you start, as the popular expression goes, its how you finish.’’

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]

N.Y., Philly Mayors Agree to World Series Wager

 

What's a World Series without a friendly wager?

 New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter today announced a bet over the winner of this year's World Series, which calls for the losing mayor to travel to the winning city to join the winning mayor in a volunteer service project.

The losing mayor will also be required to wear the jersey of the 2009 World Series champs.

 And throwing the colloquial axiom that ``there is no such thing as free lunch’’ to the wind, the losing mayor will cater lunch from a local restaurant for the volunteers working with the winning Mayor.

 ``Over past two seasons, the Phillies have been on an incredible ride, but the defending champs are about to become the former champs.  The Yanks will be bringing the World Series title back to where it belongs – New York City,” said Mayor Bloomberg.

 Marking a first for Major League Baseball, the first four games of the World Series will be dedicated to community service as a continuation of its “Going Beyond” initiative, which supports programs for veterans, cancer research and youth development.

According to New York City Economic Development Corporation, each World Series game played at Yankee Stadium generates $15.5 million in economic activity

 Bloomberg has selected Publicolor to work with students painting open spaces at I.S. 131, the Albert Einstein School in the Bronx, while Nutter chose the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program to paint a mural on the side of a Philadelphia recreation center. 

 “The real winner of this friendly wager is the Philadelphia community that stands by our teams,” said Mayor Nutter. “We will reward their dedication with this public arts project that focuses on our children. The only thing more certain for Philadelphia than a repeat is a mural for the community to enjoy.”

“It is gratifying to see Mayor Bloomberg and Mayor Nutter join Major League Baseball in dedicating this year’s World Series to community service,” said Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig.  “Mayor Bloomberg and Mayor Nutter have taken the traditional World Series bet between Mayors and turned it into an opportunity to give back to the community and enrich the lives of others.”

The last time the Yankees and Phillies squared off in a World Series came 59 years ago, when the ``Whiz Kids’’ were swept by the Bronx Bombers in 1950.

 -Bill Lucey
 [email protected]

Scouting Report: Differences between N.Y. and L.A.

  

With the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels set to square off in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series for the right to advance to the World Series, many will be pointing out differences between the two teams; the Yankees power vs. the Angels speed, which team has a deeper bullpen, and how does Joe Girardi’s youth and inexperience compare with the already post-season tested Mike Scioscia?

But there are other differences that should be noted as well between New York and Los Angeles, such as the subtle or maybe not so subtle differences between the two coasts

 For example:

1. In New York, players like to drag a bunt; in L.A. they just like to take a drag period.

2.).Everyone is a “free swinger’’ in L.A

3.) .New York is known for its home run blasts and headfirst slides, while L.A.’s known for their earthquakes and mudslides.

4). In New York, fans long for the sound of the crack of the bat, and the crack of the leather of a player’s mitt.; while in L.A, they prefer the sounds of leather, whips, and chains.

5) New York is known for the M & M Boys, L.A, the S & M Boys

6.) Both coasts are famous for their ``Murder’s Row’’—In New York (Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, et al); in L.A (Charles Manson, O.J. Simpson, et al)

7.) While double-headers have practically become a thing of the past in New York, L.A. still likes a stiff nightcap.

8.) .New York’s biggest fashion statement are the Yankees in pinstripes, in L.A. its Frederick’s of Hollywood.

9.) .While New York fans like to put mustard on their pretzels, L.A. prefers Tofu with soy sauce.

10.) .New York players pride themselves on concentrating on the strike zone; L.A. is obsessed with the concentration of the ozone.

 -Bill Lucey
 [email protected]

  

Are Seven 0-3 NFL Teams' Already Cooked For the Year?

 
Having finished its third week, the NFL season appears over, or so it seems, for at least seven of the 32 teams: The Cleveland Browns, The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Miami Dolphins, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Carolina Panthers, the Tennessee Titans, and the St Louis Rams; all of whom are 0-3.

The chances of an NFL team rebounding from such a dreadful start are grim.  

Since 1990, when the league adopted its 12-team playoff format, only three teams with 0-3 records have qualified for the playoffs.

  1.)  The 1992 San Diego Chargers, were 0-4; and all seemed lost; before rookie head coach Bobby Ross rallied his troops to a miraculous comeback season as the Chargers won 11 out of their last 12 regular season games, ended up winning the AFC Western Division with an 11-5 record, knocked off the Chiefs in the first round of the playoffs, but then were crushed by the Miami Dolphins in the divisional playoffs, 31-0. Still, it was a spectacular year for a team who hadn’t qualified for the playoffs in 10 years to become the first franchise in NFL history to lose the first four games of the season and still make it to the playoffs.

 2.)  The 1995 Detroit Lions under head coach Wayne Fontes started the season 0-3; but turned things around on Monday Night Football no less, beating the San Francisco 49er’s on September 25th; and for that time forward, they were off to the races, winning eight of their last nine games to finish the season with a 10-6 record, one game behind the division leading Green Bay Packers in the NFC Central, good enough to qualify as a Wild Card. 

The Lions ferocious comeback ended poorly, however, when they were dismantled by the Philadelphia Eagles 58-37 in the playoffs as work horse Barry Sanders, who rushed for 1500 yards and 11 touchdowns for Detroit during the regular season, was held to just 40 rushing yards.

3.) The 1998 Buffalo Bills under recently hired head coach Wade Phillips became the last NFL team to begin the season losing the first three games, only to regain their footing and advance to the playoffs. At 0-3, the Bills regrouped after the bye-week, winning seven of their next eight games, to finish the year with a 10-6 record and qualify as a Wild Card team.

Four Buffalo fumbles and a fuming Andre Reed, who bumped an official after the Bills’ wide-receiver was ruled just short of the goal line (resulting in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty); proved too costly as the Dolphins held on to a 24-17 win over the Bills in the playoffs.

So now the question becomes does any of the seven 0-3 teams this year have what it takes to snap out of their early season slumber and right the sinking ship for it’s too late?

 In particular, you have to feel for Cleveland sports fans. After enduring an appalling season with the Cleveland Indians, including a fire sale (trading Victor Martinez and Cy Young winner Cliff Lee, among others) which culminated in the jettisoning of Tribe skipper Eric Wedge on Wednesday; Northeast Ohio fans were hoping the Browns might take them out of their misery before Lebron, Shaq, and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers rolled into town. 

Not to be. Not only are the Browns, 0-3, they’re engulfed in a quarterback controversy, probably the worst disruption that could befall an NFL franchise. As that wise sage John Madden once said: ``When you have two quarterbacks [being bounced back and forth] you really have none.’’

 For Cleveland sports fans, an NFL Super Bowl trophy and World Series ring must seem as elusive as ever. The Tribe hasn’t won a World Series since 1948; and the last time the Browns suited up for a playoff game came in 2002.

In addition to fans, it must be frustrating for beat writers and editors in Cleveland to suffer one year after the next of teams never measuring up to towering expectations. Plain Dealer Sports editor Roy Hewitt feels the pain. `` Fortunately for me’’, Hewitt wrote through an email, ``I have worked in other cities that have produced world titles.’’

What about sports writers from other NFL cities, who find their teams in a woeful 0-3 predicament, much like the Browns?  Can they recover?

Here are some responses that came back by email.

On the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-3)

``I don't see the Bucs rebounding to the make the playoffs. In fact, I would be surprised if they win more than two games. I wouldn't even been shocked if they won only one game and I honestly don't think 0-16 is out of the realm of possibility.’’
``- Tom Jones, writer/editor for Page Two of the St. Petersburg Times

``It isn't just the 0-3 record; it's that there is no signs that you should be optimistic. The defense has been awful and the offense is regressing. None of the losses have been flukes. They've gotten their butts beat.’’
-John Romano, Sports Columnist, the St Petersburg Times

``If they get in from here, it would be the best comeback since Lazarus.’’ [restored to life in the New Testament]
-Gary Shelton, Sports Columnist, St Petersburg Times

On The Tennessee Titans (0-3)

``I figure they have to get to 2-4 entering the bye week, after which the schedule levels out quite a bit. That means they've got to beat Jacksonville on Sunday and then beat either Indy in Nashville or win at New England. It looks like an 8-8 season at best right now.’’
-David Climer, columnist for The Tennessean

``I still think they're good enough to turn it around and make it. They'd better get going though’’
-Jim Wyatt, Sports reporter for The Tennessean

On the St Louis Rams (0-3)

``I think [Steve] Spagnuolo's a good coach. And I like the attitude and effort of this team. But there's simply not enough talent for this group to make a playoff run.’’
-Jim Thomas, sports reporter for the St Louis Post-Dispatch

On the Kansas City Chiefs (0-3)

``It's hard to picture that. Nothing is working well for them right now. They've got a long way to go.’’
    -Adam Teicher, sports reporter for the Kansas City Star

****
For those teams who are down on their luck, there is some encouraging news to report, at least according to Michael Signora, Director of Media Relations & International Communications with the National Football League, who informs me `` since 1990, 51 teams with losing records after 3 games qualified for the playoffs.’’ 

  -Bill Lucey
[email protected]