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Back to back Iowa Hawkeye selections.
ESPN writes- Fletcher is 6-feet tall and, like we said yesterday in regards to Utah cornerback Sean Smith, corners this tall can have a hard time changing directions. In Fletcher’s case, he doesn?t have the burst or hip fluidity to consistently matchup in man coverage. However, he does a good job masking his weaknesses with instincts. Because of his long arms he doesn’t necessarily have to be in perfect position to make a play on the ball.
The Jets trade up to make this pick.
ESPN writes- At 227 pounds Greene is a powerful between-the-tackles runner who can carry a heavy load and appears to get better with each carry. He doesn’t have great top-end speed, but he’s quicker than he is fast and runs with good balance. Although he is an inconsistent receiver at this point he’s an above-average pass-blocker for a college prospect.
No I’m not talking about some middle aged man propelling a ball at some objects at the end of a lane, but the games that climax every college football season. Bowl season officially starts this Saturday, here are the matchups for all the college football fanatics out there.
Dec 20
Eaglebank Bowl- Wake Forest vs Navy
New Mexico Bowl- Colorado State vs Fresno St
MAGICJACK ST. PETERSBURG BOWL- Memphis vs. South Florida
PIONEER LAS VEGAS BOWL- Brigham Young vs Arizona
Dec 21
R+L CARRIERS NEW ORLEANS BOWL- Southern Miss vs. Troy
Dec 23
SAN DIEGO COUNTY CREDIT UNION POINSETTIA BOWL- Boise St vs TCU
Dec 24
SHERATON HAWAII BOWL- Hawaii vs Notre Dame
Dec 26
MOTOR CITY BOWL- Florida Atlantic vs. Central Michigan
Saturday, December 27
MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL- West Virginia vs. North Carolina
Champs Sports Bowl- Wisconsin vs. Florida State
Emerald Bowl- Miami (FL) vs. California
December 28
Independence Bowl- Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech
PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL- North Carolina State vs. Rutgers
Valero Alamo Bowl- Missouri vs. No. 23 Northwestern
Tuesday, December 30
ROADY’S HUMANITARIAN BOWL- Maryland vs. Nevada
PACIFIC LIFE HOLIDAY BOWL- Oklahoma State vs. No. 17 Oregon
Texas Bowl- Western Michigan vs. Rice
Wednesday, December 31
BELL HELICOPTER ARMED FORCES BOWL- Houston vs. Air Force
Sun Bowl- Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh
GAYLORD HOTELS MUSIC CITY BOWL- Boston College vs. Vanderbilt
Insight Bowl- Kansas vs. Minnesota
CHICK-FIL-A BOWL- LSU vs. Georgia Tech
Thursday, January 1
OUTBACK BOWL- South Carolina vs. Iowa
CAPITAL ONE BOWL- Georgia vs. Michigan State
Gator Bowl- Nebraska vs. Clemson
Rose Bowl- Penn State vs. USC
Fedex Orange Bowl- Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech
Friday, January 2
Cotton Bowl- Mississippi vs. Texas Tech
AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL- Kentucky vs. East Carolina
ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL- Utah vs. Alabama
January 3
INTERNATIONAL BOWL- Buffalo vs. Connecticut
January 5
TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL- Ohio State vs. Texas
January 6
GMAC Bowl- Ball State vs. Tulsa*
January 8
FEDEX BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME- Florida vs. Oklahoma
That’s 34 games, 68 schools spread over a period of 20 days for those of you keeping score at home. An ample supply of college football for any fanatics out there.
A few notes
*- There are a few bowl games remaining without corporate names in their title. Gator, Sun, Texas, Independence. Were these games unable to find sponsors?
*- Will Oklahoma St. and Oregon combine for 70 pts or more in the Holiday Bowl? This annually has been of the most high scoring affairs.
*- Oh how has the Orange Bowl dropped. A game that featured early triumphs of Joe Paterno led Penn State, Nebraska and Oklahoma in their glory days, the first major bowl appearance of Florida State, and the all time classic 84 battle between Nebraska and Miami, has Cincinnati and Virginia Tech playing this year. I’m sure they are talented football teams, but how many people are drooling to see them play in a prime-time network slot?
*- Arizona and BYU meet in a bowl 30 years after the former left the WAC conference for the higher profile Pac Eight(Now Ten, Arizona State joined also)
*- Vanderbilt makes a rare bowl appearance. Congratulations to Commodore fans, but this is a sign of how bowls are grown way out of proportion. 6-6 college teams get bids. When I was growing up I could remember Florida State going without a bowl in 1978 even though they finished the season 8-3.
It is my humble opinion that bowl season has gotten out of hand. Someone may say what’s the big deal? If someone wants to start a bowl game and there are two schools willing to play in it, does their records matter. A good football isn’t only a contest between stars at big name schools.
All true, but how much public money is spent on these affairs? Many of the teams are state universities who get funded by taxpayers. Then there is the game itself where police have to be taken from other tasks to work the day or night of the game or paid over-time.
With the economic downturn right now, you have to wonder if there will be less bowls in the near future. That would depend on how long a deal a corporate sponsor signed on for. I wonder how many fans of some schools plan to make a bowl trip. Are there 1,000 or more FAU Owls willing to journey from Florida to Michigan in December to watch the team play? Even if I were a Owl fan and had money, I’d stay home.
Enjoy the games.
I still remember Hilgenberg, Alan Page, Carl Eller and other members of the Purple People Eaters. There have to be many others besides myself who got enjoyment out of watching the Vikings play. RIP Wally.
MINNEAPOLIS — Former Minnesota Vikings linebacker Wally Hilgenberg died after a battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease Tuesday. He was 66.
Friend and former Vikings tight end Stu Voigt said Hilgenberg died peacefully, surrounded by his family, at his Lakeville, Minn., home.
“He’d say, ‘It’s not when you go, it’s where you go,’ ” Voigt told The Associated Press. “He handled these last six months with a lot of dignity.”
Hilgenberg played in college at Iowa, then spent 16 seasons in the NFL, including 12 with the Vikings from 1968 to 1979. Hilgenberg was a solid member of a feared defense that led the Vikings to four Super Bowl appearances.
Overshadowed by the Purple People Eaters playing in front of him, Hilgenberg started 116 games of the 157 he played for Minnesota, tied for 21st on the franchise’s career games played list.
Hilgenberg led the team in total tackles with 110 in 1971, and his 13 combined tackles at Chicago on Oct. 23, 1972, remains tied with Scott Studwell for the most by a Vikings player in a game. He ranks 12th on the team’s all-time tackles list with 739.
Voigt and Hilgenberg met when Voigt joined the Vikings in 1970. Hilgenberg was already with the team, and because of their positions on opposite sides of the ball, the two “literally ran into each other every day for years” during practice, Voigt said.
“We were teammates and friends from the very start,” Voigt said.
Voigt said Hilgenberg made him and other members of the team better players, but that Hilgenberg’s strong faith and community involvement also made them better people.
“We were back in the era when athletes were role models,” Voigt said. “He was a role model for myself and a lot of other guys.”
Hilgenberg was active through his religious affiliations, in charity events and in his community. He was also an avid outdoorsman, Voigt said.
After the Vikings, Voigt and Hilgenberg remained friends and ran banking and real estate businesses together.
Voigt said the last few months were rough. Hilgenberg was in a wheelchair, crippled from the effects of Lou Gehrig’s disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. ALS damages the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, eventually leading to death.
“It takes away your body,” Voigt said of the disease. “But I could tell the mind was there, and the twinkle in his eye. … He was really quite a guy.”
He is survived by his wife, four grown children, and several grandchildren. Funeral arrangements were pending.
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| Saturday, April 29, 2006 |
The Vikings surely hoped that one of the Big 3 quarterbacks would drop to them, since they decided to trade Daunte Culpepper for a bag of magic beans in the offseason. That didn’t happen.
But there are several stud players still left, with teams starting to go off the reservation in their picks. The further one goes down in the draft, the less likely there is to be consensus as to who’s the best player, since everyone starts having weaknesses.
Goose had the Vikes taking linebacker Chad Greenway.
The pick: Greenway
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