2010 Canton Inductions Cover The Sport

All we figured we would do is just show you the worth of the seven guys who are heading into Canton next August...

This one... we really don't need to write anything...

Jerry Rice... he caught a few passes...
((HT: NFL Films/NFL))


John Randle... top six in sacks all-time...
((HT: NFL Films/NFL))


Dick LeBeau... one of the defensive coaching geniuses of all time...
((HT: NFL Network/NFL))


Emmitt Smith... he ran for a few yards in his career...
((HT: NFL on Fox))


Russ Grimm... probably the only Hog to get into the Hall...
Here's a tribute video from 1986 about the Redskins fans and their relationship
Just one, big family...


Rickey Jackson... top ten in NFL history in sacks...
Interviewed before the Cardinals game...
((HT: Fox8Live New Orleans))


Floyd Little... he put the Denver Broncos on the map...
He actually got fired in 1968 by Lou Saban...
((HT: NFL Films/NFL))

Remembering The American Football League

Had the American Football League refused to merge with the NFL back in 1966, The AFL would mark it's 50th season. The AFL began in play in 1960 and challenged the established league, the NFL, and succeeded.

The evolution of the AFL began in 1959 when a Dallas business man named Lamar Hunt wanted to own a football team. Instead Hunt started his own football league and convinced other men with very deep pockets to buy in. Those new owners became known as “The Foolish Club.”



As far as getting players both leagues used gorilla tactics. Read up on the "wild west" days of pro football and how the AFL changed the NFL. It's a great read for you football history buffs.


Photo Courtesy: Remembertheafl.com

AFL Drops Health Insurance Coverage

[HT Grand Rapids Press, Sports Business Daily]

The AFL has shut down for the year and that means for you players, no more health insurance. The league notified its players that it "plans to discontinue health insurance while preparing for a 2010 relaunch," according to two AFLPA reps cited by Brian VanOchten of the Grand Rapids Press.

The AFL Players Association informed the players as well last week that their health coverage would end May 31.

It was a total surprise and the AFLPA claims could stall the league's progress to return next season.

Grand Rapids Rampage placekicker Brian Gowins, the alternate union representative for the team, told the Grand Rapids Press "I am less optimistic than I have ever been. It's frustrating. I think a lot of players are coming to the point (waiting for AFL owners to finalize their plans) that they're going to have to wash their hands of the league and move on," he added. "A lot of them can't wait much longer."

According to the term sheet that outlines conditions for a new 4-year collective bargaining agreement between the AFL owners and players obtained by the Grand Rapids Press and clears the way for the AFL's return, it stipulates teams will pay 100 percent of the cost of (transition) insurance coverage for all players receiving insurance through at least June 30, 2009" or longer, depending on contract status, length of service time and other factors.

The AFL owners sent a memo to the AFLPA leaders that it was no longer the case.

Jack Kemp Dies at 73

((HT: CBSSports))

Jack Kemp, the ex-quarterback, congressman, one-time vice-presidential nominee and self-described "bleeding-heart conservative" died Saturday.

His spokeswoman Bona Park and longtime friend and former campaign adviser Edwin J. Feulner confirmed that Kemp ((pictured, thanks Buffalo News file)) died after a lengthy illness.

Kemp had announced in January 2009 that he had been diagnosed with cancer. He said he was undergoing tests but gave no other detail.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called Kemp "one of the nation's most distinguished public servants, Jack was a powerful voice in American politics for more than four decades."

Kemp, a former quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, represented western New York for nine terms in Congress, leaving the House for an unsuccessful presidential bid in 1988.

Eight years later, after serving a term as President George H.W. Bush's housing secretary, he made it onto the national ticket as Bob Dole's running-mate.

With that loss, the Republican bowed out of political office, but not out of politics. In speaking engagements and a syndicated column, he continued to advocate for the tax reform and supply-side policies -- the idea that the more taxes are cut the more the economy will grow -- that he pioneered.

Kemp's rapid and wordy style made the enthusiastic speaker with the neatly side-parted white hair a favorite on the lecture circuit, and a millionaire. (His style didn't win over everyone. In his memoirs, former Vice President Dan Quayle wrote that at Cabinet meetings, Bush would be irked by Kemp's habit of going off on tangents and not making "any discernible point.")

Kemp also signed on with numerous educational and corporate boards and charitable organizations, including NFL Charities, which kept him connected to his football roots.

Kemp was a 17th round 1957 NFL draft pick by the Detroit Lions but was cut before the season began. After being released by three more NFL teams and the Canadian Football League over the next three years, he joined the American Football League's Los Angeles Chargers as a free agent in 1960. A waivers foul-up two years later would land him with the Buffalo Bills, who got him at the bargain basement price of $100.

Mr. Kemp, bills fans will forever remember you for helping bring titles to the city in the AFL. But those of us at OSG HQ thank for your service for your country...

AFL Commish Resigns... Is The AFL Done...?

((HT: Jack McCarthy/the four-letter))

The future of the Arena Football League appeared to darken this week as its acting commissioner resigned, and league owners were reportedly set to discuss options including a possible full shutdown.

Acting AFL commissioner Ed Policy abruptly stepped down Monday, leaving the dormant league without a top executive as it struggled to regain footing after canceling the 2009 season.

Policy's departure was reported in Monday's edition of Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal.

In the wake of the resignation, a league source said the AFL's board of directors was set to convene via conference call later Monday to discuss options including possible dissolution.

Attempts to reach Policy and remaining executives at the league's New York and Chicago offices for comment Monday were unsuccessful.

In recent weeks, some team executives expressed optimism that the AFL would return in 2010, but as the league's suspension entered its fourth month there was still no official word on when or even if it will restart operations.

The AFL became the third North American sports league since 1994 to call off all or part of a season when owners pulled the plug on the 2009 season last December.

Even before Policy's resignation, league officials were tight-lipped about any progress toward a restart.

Several attempts by ESPN.com to reach Policy for comment were unsuccessful. Policy had made only two official statements since late last year, including one that said the AFL's business operations needed to be "restructured."

Despite the dearth of news, officials of at least two AFL franchises said last month that they were confident operations will soon resume.

"It's pure speculation, but I think [the odds] would be 9 [out of 10]," Grand Rapids general manager Scott Woodruff told ESPN.com. "I've always have been optimistic. And if I didn't feel that way, I probably would have aggressively looked for employment elsewhere."

Ron Jaworski, president of the reigning Arena Bowl champion Philadelphia Soul, said a return is a near-certainty.

"We have a plan in place; we're going to open up next year again. There's a lot at stake," Jaworski told The (Norfolk, Va.) Virginian-Pilot during an appearance last month in Portsmouth, Va. Shutting down "was disappointing for us … But the model needed to be fixed."

Fueling optimism was last month's tentative agreement between representatives of owners and players on a revised four-year collective bargaining agreement.

The deal reportedly reduces costs -- including salaries -- and helps lend financial stability to the league. And the AFL was also said to be exploring a less-costly centralized business operation model.

"Players are making economic concessions now in return for a share of expected increases in the League's value and revenue, because the players believe in the future of the AFL," said Richard Berthelsen, the AFL Player's Association acting executive director in a statement.

But results of a vote by the full AFLPA membership had not been announced by early April and the league owners had yet to OK the pact.

In a mid-March statement, Policy said the tentative agreement was a "critical step" forward.

"The AFL is working tirelessly to develop a comprehensive plan to ensure that the League not only survives but thrives as a business enterprise," he said. "This revised deal with the players provides a fundamental and vital foundation upon which we can rebuild the economic model."

Just When You Thought The AFL Was Safe

((HT: Sports Business Daily))

Days after cancelling its 2009 season, the Arena Football League is facing legal action from its former television partner.

NBC has filed a lawsuit against the AFL "alleging that the league owes the network $1,597,320 in advertising revenue from broadcasts during the 2006 season," reports the Sports Business Journal.

During their four-year partnership from 2002-06, NBC and the AFL engaged in a revenue sharing agreement in which the league would "[collect] money from its sponsors and was required to pay NBC for those sponsors’ advertising units so that the network could recoup production costs and calculate the amount of net ad revenue the partners would share."

The suit alleges that the AFL ceased paying in 2006 after NBC told the league it did not want to renew the television deal for another season. (source Sports Media Watch)