A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
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Update: ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter on Sunday morning reported that the Jets plan to place the franchise tag on David Harris this offseason, a move that will prevent other teams from getting their hands on one of the players most valuable to his team in the league.
Fantasy Impact: Let’s not forget the Jets have a slew of pending free agents, but it looks like Harris is the one guy they feel the most certain about keeping.
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Update: Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb wants to be a starter. As for that price tag, Albert Breer of NFL.com writes that the cost for Kolb will be high, owing to the number of teams looking for a change at the position this offseason.
Fantasy Impact: The Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals have seemed like the teams that could be most interested in Kolb's services, but he may get some competition from Packers backup Matt Flynn who also showed he is a worthy backup and capable of being a starter.
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Update: Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb wants to be a starter. As for that price tag, Albert Breer of NFL.com writes that the cost for Kolb will be high, owing to the number of teams looking for a change at the position this offseason.
Fantasy Impact: The Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals have seemed like the teams that could be most interested in Kolb's services, but he may get some competition from Packers backup Matt Flynn who also showed he is a worthy backup and capable of being a starter.
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Under Mike Tomlin, one of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ sacred pregame rituals takes place the night before games. It involves darkening the room, listening to Phil Collins’ classic song In The Air Tonight, and the players visualizing making plays. Numerous Steelers players have talked this week about the importance of the ritual as a method for getting in the right frame of mind to compete at their best on Sundays.
But according to MSF sources* close to the situation, Tomlin made a gargantuan error last night when it came time for the Phil Collins ritual. Rather than playing In The Air Tonight, Tomlin accidentally hit play on Sussudio. The CD player subsequently froze, thus leaving Tomlin powerless to change the track.
The effects on the Steelers’ mindsets for Super Bowl XLV could be devastating.
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Update: The Cardinals have gone directly to wideout Larry Fitzgerald to solicit his opinion on matters for the quarterback position, according to a report from ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. League sources have told Schefter that Fitzgerald obliged the team's request for information, mentioning one man as the QB from whom he'd most like to receive passes: Kevin Kolb.
Fantasy Impact: Reports are that he also mentioned veteran QB Marc Bulger who took exactly zero snaps this past season as the back up in Baltimore. This should get interesting.
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Update: The Cardinals have gone directly to wideout Larry Fitzgerald to solicit his opinion on matters for the quarterback position, according to a report from ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. League sources have told Schefter that Fitzgerald obliged the team's request for information, mentioning one man as the QB from whom he'd most like to receive passes: Kevin Kolb.
Fantasy Impact: Reports are that he also mentioned veteran QB Marc Bulger who took exactly zero snaps this past season as the back up in Baltimore. This should get interesting.
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Update: ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported on Sunday that the contract of Washington Redskins wide receiver Santana Moss will void this week, five days after Super Bowl XLV. The franchise tag, if it's available, could be a possibility.
Fantasy Impact: If the 'Skins don't tag or extend Moss, he'll be an unrestricted free agent when the new collective bargaining agreement is reached.
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Odds for Super Bowl XLV between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers have been out for almost two weeks now, with fluctuations occurring all around as bets come in and lines are adjusted. But with the Big Game kicking off less than 10 hours from now, it’s getting down to crunch time if you want to lock in any wagers.
In this post, I’ll run down the latest point spread over-under odds for Super Bowl XLV, as well as some interesting prop bets that you may want to take a look at, including comparing what Aaron Rodgers does today to what Brett Favre did in his Super Bowl appearance.
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Well, it’s almost here.
Being a Packers fan, and being that I’m too young to remember their last Super Bowl victory, I have never been more pumped for a Super Bowl.
It’s going to be something special. The franchise with the most NFL titles in history against the franchise with the most Super Bowl victories in history. Two of the league’s best defenses vs. two of the best QBs in football.
I am ready for this game.
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Earlier this week, I posted a video in which Tiki Barber went around during Media Day asking Green Bay Packers player what the “G” on their helmet stood for. Tiki said it stood for “Greatness”, although we have since learned that he may have fallen victim to a Wikipedia hoax.
While there is some difference of opinion over what the “G” stands for, there is no disputing what “Packers” stands for.
From the Pro Football Hall of Fame website:
The name ["Packers"] was a natural since the team was sponsored first by the Indian Packing Company and later the Acme Packing Company. Although both companies went out of business, the team prospered under the name Packers.
Now that we all know where the name “Packers” comes for, let’s see if some of the celebs and athletes who descended upon Dallas for Super Bowl XLV know what it means.
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[Editor's note: this is a guest post written for Midwest Sports Fans by Diana Klochova, the winner of the P&G-sponsored Blogger Fantasy Football League* that I participated in this year. Diana won a trip to the Super Bowl, which gave her the opportunity to do fun things like interview Olivia Manning, the mother of Peyton and Eli. Diana's description and the interview is posted below.]
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What does it take to raise not one, but two, NFL quarterbacks? Well, a lot of food, nerves of steel, and probably a good deal of Febreze if you’d like to breathe comfortably in your own home after the kids get home from practice. It’s no wonder Olivia Manning, mother to Peyton and Eli, has partnered up with Febreze. What’s really great, though, is the program they are running and promoting together here in Dallas for Super Bowl XLV.
The first-ever Febreze Game Day Sports Equipment Drive is collecting gently used sports equipment from visitors to their station at the NFL Experience (pictures at bottom of post). They are collaborating with the Salvation Army to get the gear smelling fresh and into the hands of those who cannot afford their own.
Today, I had a chance to visit their tour bus to see this wonderful program in action and sit down with Mrs. Manning. An incredibly warm and gracious woman, she gave me a glimpse into the personalities of her two superstar sons from the perspective of the woman who knows them best.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers overcame a lot to reach Super Bowl XLV. Thanks to the steady, intense leadership of Mike Tomlin, the Steelers were able to persevere when many other teams might have given in.
One of the rallying points for the Steelers was the us-against-the-commissioner mentality that developed with Ben Roethlisberger’s suspension and then the NFL’s crackdown on helmet hits, which seemed to single out James Harrison. If the Steelers win Sunday night, it will be quite entertaining watching the awkwardness when Roger Goodell has to present Tomlin and Harrison with the Lombardi Trophy.
What you might not know is that Tomlin and Goodell have already talked about it. And let’s just say it wasn’t the friendliest conversation, as our newest photo story shows.
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Want to feel just a tad bit better about yourself? Then watch the video below.
In yet another installment of our YardBarker at Super Bowl XLV series, Alana G and the gang issue the following challenge to a bunch of athletes and celebs: spell Polamalu.
Now, you might think, like I did, that anyone with half a brain could simply sound it out and come up with P-O-L-A-M-A-L-U. But you’d be wrong.
Oh, and Vincent Chase and Drama from Entourage are apparently dumber in real life than I imagined they’d be.
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As we know, the Super Bowl is the most viewed television event in the world every year. People across the world, many of whom never watch a regular season football game, tune in for the Super Bowl.
Sure, the purists among us are excited about this year’s Big Game matchup between two of the NFL’s most historic teams, the Steelers and the Packers, but many people watch for the commercials, or the halftime show, or the pomp and circumstance, or because they’re at a party, or simply because it’s the Super Bowl!
But not these folks. Something tells me they probably could not care less who wins the Lombardi Trophy.
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The Super Bowl is less than 48 hours away, and that means one thing: four hours and 29 minutes of pregame on FOX leading up to the game.
Most of America, including myself, have a tough time watching the FOX pregame show for one hour; 4+ hours of nonsense and laughter is just too much. That is why I found a few other shows to watch before the big game starts at precisely 6:29 pm EST.
