Super Bowl 44 Players Get Pro Bowl Money and Rotary Club Party

A full share of payment will be given to the players of the Super Bowl 44 teams who did not play the Pro Bowl. Roger Goodell the commissioner has informed the 12 playoff teams that their all star players who will not be playing because of their preparation for the up coming Super Bowl will not forfeit their earnings from the Pro Bowl. There are fifty-seven Pro Bowl players who will be participating in the playoffs, including nine players from Minnesota, who has the most players of any team. The Pro Bowl will be played before the Super Bowl for the first time. Both games will be played at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, the Pro Bowl will be on 31 January and the Super Bowl on 7 February.

The Rotary club will be sponsoring a pre-Super Bowl bash. After starting in a new year, opinion for some turn from determination toward a more recreational pastime, this came from the Super Bowl. The Southgate Rotary Club will start the party early with its yearly pre-Super Bowl bash. The event promises a night filled with sports fun, lots of activities, food and fellowship with a little team taunting tossed in for a good degree.

The Downriver Family YMCA and the Rotary are hosting the party that will start at 7 p.m. on 30 January at Holiday Inn, 17201 North Line. This will be for to benefit the YMCA’s Strong Kids Campaign and the charities of the Southgate Rotary that will provide recreational and educational opportunities for youths. Sports attire is suggested even if the team you are supporting is not playing or even in season. There will also be an auction and bids on sport’s memorabilia.

The Rotary 6400 Fantasy Football League will also celebrate this year’s league winners and the losers. There will be trophies and prizes given to the victors and the looser. The price of the Tickets cost $40 each and $75 per couple. Sponsorship tickets are available from $100 to $1,000.

The 44th annual 2010 Super Bowl and the Super Bowl XLIV was awarded by the NFL to Miami. The championship game will be staged on 7 February at the Dolphin Stadium. The half time show will feature the British rock band The Who that are scheduled to play. There were more than 151 million people in the United States who watched the show last year. This is another reason to watch the Super Bowl 44.

Signs are Hasselbeck will play Sunday

All signs are pointing in the direction of Matt Hasselbeck returning to quarterback the reeling Seahawks on Sunday versus Jacksonville. The three-time Pro Bowl quarterback looked razor-sharp while finishing a second successive practice Thursday. It’s his first work ever since he broke a rib on a lunge for the goal line at San Francisco. The team formally listed him as limited on the everyday practice report it filed to the league. Hasselbeck took the greater part of snaps with the first-team offense, with backup Seneca Wallace left with only a little. Hasselbeck didn’t look very restricted to top receiver Nate Burleson.

The Seahawks could use a wakeup call. Five starters are already out for Sunday’s game, including three-fifths of the offensive line. Coach Jim Mora said this week there is a “major sense of urgency, a HUGE sense of urgency” following a blowout defeat at the hands of Indianapolis, which has Seattle essentially three games behind first-place San Francisco in the NFC West because the Seahawks have already lost to the 49ers.

Seahawks’ Jones Out Into At Least November

Seahawks nine-time Pro Bowl tackle Walter Jones will not come back until at least November, if at all this season. Coach Jim Mora said Wednesday the team has decided Jones will draw back trying to come back from two knee surgeries. The 35-year-old affix to Seattle’s offensive line for the previous decade will now be reassessed after the bye week, before a game at Dallas on Nov. 1. He came out to watch the end of practice whilst walking laboriously next to a team trainer.

Thanksgiving Day was Jones’ last game. He played with painkilling injections in his left knee then had micro fracture surgery to regenerate cartilage. After a few practices in camp, he had arthroscopic surgery on the knee and it still pains him. Brandon Frye, who was released last month by the Dolphins, will start once more for Jones on Sunday against Jacksonville. The team is hoping the subsequently three weeks of rest will be adequate for Jones to be ready for the final 10 games of the season. If he isn’t, Jones may go on the injured reserve list and that would probably end his season and perhaps his career, given his age and the brutality of his knee injury.

Seahawks’ Tatupu to Donate to Tsunami Relief

Lofa Tatupu’s father was born and raised in American Samoa and the Seattle Seahawks star still has family members on the island. And he hasn’t heard how they fared through last week’s deadly tsunami that rolled across the U.S. region, as well as Samoa and Tonga. He figures the least he can do is give to the calamity reprieve efforts in the Pacific Rim region.

Coach Jim Mora said his three-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker is volunteering to match the first $10,000 that fans contribute in a collection drive started by the Seahawks and Medical Teams International. Tatupu didn’t want notice on his kindness, and he was surprised to learn word got out. The team released a statement which quoted Tatupu saying, “Every donation will help provide relief to those affected by the disaster.” The Seahawks are inviting fans to donate on their way into the stadium at Sunday’s home game against Jacksonville, or on their team’s Web site. Mora was struck by Tatupu’s generosity, and by the perspective the tsunami and the earthquake that triggered it give when fans are bemoaning the injuries and defeats the Seahawks are enduring.

Colts D Makes Big Turnaround in Last 2 Weeks

Colts defensive end Robert Mathis is enjoying again. He’s smiling, joking, taking pride in his big game against Seattle and the recent improvement he and his teammates have made. It’s a stark contrast to two weeks ago when an exhausted Mathis had to answer questions about Indianapolis’ defensive debacle at Miami—and that was a win for the Colts. Mathis didn’t hide then, and he’s not hiding now.

Over the past two weeks, the Colts have put quarterbacks Kurt Warner and Seneca Wallace under tremendous duress. They limited Arizona and Seattle to a combined 73 yards rushing and only 27 points—14 coming in the last three minutes of Sunday’s 34-17 victory over the Seahawks. The brand new Indy defense is using blitz packages to help Mathis and Dwight Freeney draw more one-on-one blocking matchups, a jam for opponents that appears as one-sided on tape as it does in the stat books. Freeney and Mathis already have five sacks between them, nearly half of their combined total from last season when Mathis finished with 11 1/2, Freeney had 10 1/2 and both went to the Pro Bowl. They’ve enforced four fumbles and when they’re not catching quarterbacks they’re still forcing them into pitiable decisions, hurried throws or inaccurate passes.

Ravens Showing Confidence in Subtle Humor, Irony

If you saw Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh’s press conference Monday afternoon, you couldn’t help but chuckle about the exchange he claims to have had with special teams stand-out Brendon Ayanbadejo. When asked his thoughts on Ayanbadejo’s increased roll on the team’s defensive sub-packages, Harbaugh was a little uneasy about the Pro Bowl linebacker’s mindset.

It is uplifting to see that even though the Ravens take their game very seriously, they don’t necessarily take themselves too seriously. A team that can enjoy with some good-natured ribbing shows that they have a assured level of confidence and trust in one another, which translates into performance come Sunday. Tight end L.J Smith is one more example. Smith had been fighting a hamstring injury since training camp and finally saw his first regular season game action last week against the Browns. After producing a first quarter reception for a first down, Smith came to the sideline and was quickly greeted with even more Raven spoof. If the Ravens go on and show thick skin, the result will definitely be more wins.

Former Patriots LB Seau Wants to Come Back

Former NFL linebacker Junior Seau is trying out some fresh careers this fall as part of a television show called “Sports Jobs.” What he really wants is his former job back. Seau has previously come out of retirement twice to play for New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. Last year, the 12-time Pro Bowl selection joined the team in December after it was hit by injury bug; this year Jerod Mayo is already gone for 6-8 weeks with an injury. Junior Seau’s show, which will premiere on Versus in December, features some of the jobs behind the scenes in sports. On Thursday he will be working as the Capitals’ equipment manager.

Let’s go Junior! I think you know that the Pats need you right now. Bill Belichick should make it work. The Patriots’ weakest link is their defense and I think it can vastly improve with Seau back. Even if it’s only a dream, let’s see him back for at least one more season eh Pats?

Two Reasons Tennessee Can Still Make the NFL Playoffs

Offensive Firepower. The Titans are improved than they were last year in this all categories. There may be a small number of exceptions where things have remained the same, yes, but nothing is painfully worse, either. Exclude a few dropped balls here and there, and this team has no rationale to not be in business. Unluckily, its skill has thus far been on display only in shootouts instead of blowouts. But with the exception of injury, this unit should keep producing all year long.  It’s only up to the defense and suddenly shaky special teams to follow.

Untapped Talent. Much has been made of the unusually maligned Tennessee defense, but truth be told, it’s biggest lost this year was by seven points. Granted, the offense had something to do with that, scoring often to keep the team in the game. But the truth remains that these are basically the same players that graced the playoffs and the Pro Bowl last season. If the front four lives up to their potential and can effectively apply pressure to the quarterback, then things will get better. Perhaps more vital, however, is for communication to get better within the secondary, between the safeties, and the corner backs in particular. Talent is one thing, living up to it is entirely a different story. But so long as the proverbial panic button isn’t hit, then it’s only a matter of time before they hit their stride.  All of their media sound bites toe the company line, with the players saying all of the right things to give the fans hope. Only time can prove if all this becomes reality.

The Pro Bowl Beast

The AFC once again faced the NFC in another exciting Pro Bowl. A collection of all the best talent in the NFL where seen playing together and against each other, which is probably the highest level of American Football in the World. Some would only play for fun, some would play to win, others would simply dominte.

Larry Fitzgerald has had a phenomenal season. He was such a headache for the defense, that even against the Steelers, he was still able to unleash his fury even though he was covered for most of the Superbowl. Now that he’s playing in the Pro Bowl, he once again proved that he can destroy the defense, even if that defense is a collection of AFC all stars.

It was because of him that the NFC won against the AFC, and he became the first Cardinal in history to ever become a Pro Bowl MVP. He caught 5 passes, and gained 2 touchedowns. If that’s not monstrous enough, he’s catched at least a touchdown for the last 7 games he’s played.

It was just right that he was named Pro Bowl MVP.

Jim Johnson and Cancer

American Football is one of the most physical sports on the planet. You will see players going at it, and trying to tackle everyone on the field that would be an obstacle to their goals. In spite of this nature, all teams come together when there is no game played and it is tragic to see that a part of the NFL family sick or has a bad situation.

It was during the playoffs that Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson started to complain about back problems. It was quite a surprise that he was not coaching from his normal sideline position, and when he had it checked, he was informed by doctors that he has a tumor in his lower back. This is the reason why he won’t be attending the pro bowl next week.

He has all the league and fans support and prayers, and is very hopeful that he will get to coach in this 2009. He would be needing radiation treatment and will be closely monitored by physicians. He is 67 years old and is one of the most accomplished defensive coordinators in the league. It’s good to know that it was spotted immediately before it spread.

Stopping Fitzgerald

Anyone who has seen the NFC Championships has seen how Larry Fitzgerald destroyed the Carolina and Philly defense. His speed, height, and leaping capabilities  made it look like he had super human strength. Some may think that Fitzgerald is a mutant or an alien that no human can stop, but stopping him indeed isn’t as difficult as people may think it is.

Whenever you have a problem, the best thing to do is locate it’s source, isolate it, and deal with it directly. When it comes to American Football, the source would be the quarter back.  As long as the Steelers put much pressure on Kurt Warner, they should be able to contain Fitzgerald easily. He may be a very good catcher, but there’s only so much you can do when the QB constantly dishes out bad passes.

This doesn’t mean that the stealers have to get a sack or an interception every time. All they have to do is to put a lot of pressure on Warner, so that they’d be able to force an amount of errors and turnovers. I would indeed be very afraid if I knew that 3 or 4 300 lb men were out to tackle me.

Don’t Mess with James!

The Pittsburgh Steelers are known to have one of the toughest defenses in NFL history. They simply put so much pressure on the quarterback, that even though they wouldn’t get a sack, they’d still be able to force him to make a mistake. I can’t imagine how frustrated the opponents offense could get.

At the heart of this defense is James Harrison. He was named defensive player of the year and he definitely, without any questions asked, deserved it. It’s not only about the way he plays or his skills, but it’s also about he’s able to intimidate people. He simply is a scary man. I wouldn’t dare look him in the eye if i was on the field and I was the quarterback. I’d quiver and pee in my pants.

Still, after two pro bowls, he has managed to kept himself humble. Whenever fans would want his autograph, he’d be skeptical about them and asked them if they really knew who he was. Well what hasn’t sunk into his head yet is that yes people know him, and that’s because he’s such a force on the fields. The Steelers are very lucky that they have this finely tuned machine on their side.