Here is today's Green Bay Update from Jeff Ash. If you have any questions
or comments about the update, contact Jeff (mailto:jeffash@netnet.net).
--------------------------------------------------
Greetings from Green Bay, where we're settling into the rhythms of the
regular season. That means not much news during the week because the
Packers, like most NFL teams, are loathe to tip their hand about strategy
or injuries before their next game.
-- The Packers won their season opener on Sunday, beating the Oakland
Raiders 28-24 at Lambeau Field in a thriller. QB Brett Favre threw 4 TD
passes, the last going to TE Jeff Thomason with just 11 seconds left.
Complete coverage of the game is at the usual web sites listed below.
-- The Packers (1-0) face the Lions (1-0) at noon Sunday at the Silverdome
in Pontiac, Mich. It'll be televised regionally on Fox with Dick Stockton
and Matt Miller. It'll be aired on the Packer Radio Network with Wayne
Larrivee and Larry McCarren. For updated tailgating forecasts, check
Keith's web site at galstar.com
-- A week ago, more than 10,000 tickets remained for Sunday's game, and the
Lions were hoping Packers fans would help them out. I would imagine the
details are at ticketmaster.com
-- Favre sustained a badly bruised right hand against the Raiders, which
affected his ability to grip and throw the ball. He banged it twice on DT
Russell Maryland's helmet in the 3rd quarter, first reinjuring his sprained
thumb from the preseason, then bruising the hand. On Monday, Favre said the
thumb "doesn't feel good" was "black and blue." No word on what pain
medication, if any, Favre is using. Because of his previous addition to
Vicodin, he usually takes only Motrin. Should he need something stronger,
that would be closely watched by the team doctors. Favre is likely to sit
out practice all week, but is expected to be ready to face the Lions on
Sunday. It'll be his 111st consecutive start.
-- After the game, Favre was so emotionally spent from the comeback -- and
likely proving he could win without Mike Holmgren -- that he wept on the
sidelines and again in the postgame interview. Favre called the last 9
plays of the 2-minute drill to win the game. A quote from coach Ray Rhodes:
"The game came down to No. 4, two minutes and making plays. ... He's
amazing. He's the ultimate warrior."
-- Other injuries of note: SS LeRoy Butler has a bruised right shoulder and
may need to wear a harness to protect it, but will play Sunday. ... DT
Santana Dotson sprained his left ankle but also will face the Lions. ... TE
Mark Chmura's neck held up well in his 1st contact of the season, but he
was sore on Monday. He missed almost the entire preseason with a bulging
disc. ... LG Joe Andruzzi's right knee is still sore, but he insists he's
ready to play. He tore the medial collateral ligament 6 weeks ago. He'll
wear a big brace on his right leg for the rest of the season. He was
inactive against the Raiders, but might play Sunday.
-- Nice performances by all 3 of the rookie CBs, especially starter Mike
McKenzie. ... The receivers were OK, but were plagued by at least 3 crucial
drops and 2 tipped interceptions. ... The defensive line had 3 sacks, but
was soft against the run. ... LG Mike Wahle was up and down, and the rest
of the line allowed too much pressure on Favre and didn't create enough
room for RB Dorsey Levens, but nonetheless kept it together on the winning
drive.
-- The Packers signed P Louie Aguiar on Tuesday and cut rookie P Chris
Hanson, who struggled against the Raiders. Aguiar, 33, is a 9-year veteran
who was cut by the Chiefs in training camp after being inconsistent. Aguiar
also will wear No. 7. He's had just 1 punt blocked in 631 NFL tries and
averaged 43 yards last season.
Aguiar is a survivor of testicular cancer. He had surgery and radiation
treatments in March 1998. Of course, rookie P Josh Bidwell is out for the
year, also being treated for testicular cancer. After working out on
Friday, Sept. 3, the day after the Packers' last preseason game, Bidwell
found a lump and checked in with one of the team's doctors. That was at 11
a.m. After a sonogram, he was in surgery by 3:30 p.m. He's home in Oregon
for further treatment.
-- As expected, the Packers last week traded CB Craig Newsome to the 49ers
for a 5th-round pick in next year's draft. To take his place on the roster,
the Packers signed LT Barry Stokes. He's 25, 6-4, 305, a 2nd-year player
out of Eastern Michigan. He wears No. 67. He's bounced around since 1996,
having training camp and practice squad gigs with the Lions, Jaguars,
Falcons, Rams and Dolphins. He was cut by Miami, for whom he played 3 games
last year.
-- The Packers filled out the practice squad with CBs Tyrone Bell and James
Souder. Bell is 24, 6-2, 210 out of North Alabama and wears No 47. He was a
6th-round pick of the Chargers. Souder is 22, 5-11, 208 out of
Bethune-Cookman and wears No. 48. He was undrafted and cut by the Vikings.
They join G Craig Heimburger, WR Tyrone Goodson and TE Lamont Hall on the
squad.
-- Rookie S Chris Akins, who had a good camp and a terrific last preseason
game, hoped to be signed to the practice squad after the last cut, but was
crossed up by his agent. Akins was sent to try out for the Raiders, but
found out when he got there that it was just for their practice squad. Had
he known that, he would have stayed in Green Bay.
-- LB Jude Waddy can return to the Packers next Monday, after his 4-game
suspension for flunking a steroid test is over. Until then, he can't attend
practices, meetings, games or use the team's facilities. Nevertheless, he's
in town, just waiting to get going. The Packers expect him to be the leader
on special teams.
-- S Rodney Artmore's mom is doing better at home in Galveston, Texas. She
had a stroke more than 2 months ago and is starting to regain some movement
in her legs, though she's still using a wheelchair. She perked up when she
learned Artmore had made the team.
-- The new radio team of Larrivee and McCarren is getting good reviews.
Though people enjoyed Jim Irwin and Max McGee for 30 years, the new team is
energetic, has done its homework, knows all the players and quickly can
tell listeners why something has happened in addition to what has happened.
-- Looks like the Packers and retired WR Robert Brooks may wind up in
arbitration, now that the Packers want Brooks to repay $2.8 million, or 80%
of the $3.5 million signing bonus he received in February 1998, after his
career ended because of injuries. Brooks counts $700,000 against this
year's salary cap and $2.1 million against next year's cap. A quote from GM
Ron Wolf: "There's a lot of things you'd like to walk away from, but you
can't walk away from $3 million. It's something the club has to do."
-- Steve Kraft and his friends and relatives got out last Saturday and
painted his back fence, which faces Lambeau Field on Lombardi Avenue.
They've been putting slogans on the green-and-gold fence for 15 years. This
year's slogan: "Rhode(s) Rage Drives The Pack To Atlanta." It's so well
known that Kraft gets the paint from Fleet Farm, which uses the fence in
advertisements. Do you remember some of the previous ones? "Infante We
Trust," "The Pack Is All Wright," "The Packers' Edge Is Sterling Sharpe"
and "Mike Bring The Title Holm-a-gren"
-- 3 Green Bay TV stations (WLUK, WBAY, WFRV) carry 11 shows fully or
partly dedicated to the Packers this season. 9 Green Bay, Appleton and
Oshkosh radio stations carry 19 such shows in addition to Packer Radio
Network programming on game days. WNFL, WDUZ, WGEE are the biggies. Packers
making regular appearances on these shows are Rhodes, Waddy, Andruzzi,
Thomason, offensive coordinator Sherman Lewis, LS Rob Davis, RG Marco
Rivera, C Mike Flanagan, DT Billy Lyon, K Ryan Longwell, LT Ross Verba, WR
Bill Schroeder and LB George Koonce. Other players and coaches are
occasional guests. I list the call letters to assist your web site
searches. All 3 TV stations have their own sites, but I don't know about
their Packers content, if any, nor whether any of the radio stations have
web sites.
-- Looking ahead to 2000: The Packers already know 12 of the 16 teams
they'll play next year, thanks to the NFL's interconference scheduling
formula. At home, they'll play the Vikings, Bears, Buccaneers, Lions, Colts
and Jets. On the road, they'll play the 4 NFC Central teams plus the Bills
and Dolphins. The other 4 opponents are determined by where the Packers
finish in the NFC Central. That becomes clearer in the last couple of weeks
of the season.
-- I must be getting old. The Green Bay Press-Gazette last week had a story
about the tremendous growth of pregame parties and entertainment in the
area around Lambeau Field on game days. It included this quote from a
Racine fan attending a pregame party at a nearby sports bar: "I think this
is more for young people and (tailgating is) for old people." It also
included this quote from a season-ticket holder from Appleton, who said
tailgating has become "kind of a hassle." Some fans say these bashes are
cheaper and more fun than tailgating in the Lambeau Field parking lot,
which costs $15 to enter. As you may suspect, I'm a tailgating diehard,
with wonderful memories going back well into the '80s, when, according to a
marketing guy quoted in the story, "nobody did anything but go to the
parking lot."
Along those lines, I'd like to hear your thoughts and observations on how
the experience of going to a game at Lambeau Field has changed over the
last decade or so, for better or worse. I'm also interested in hearing your
take on the Packers' increasingly aggressive marketing, from merchandise to
online ventures to seat licenses at a new or renovated stadium. I'm working
on an essay about, for lack of a better term, the NFLization of Green Bay
and its fans. Drop me a line at jeffash@netnet.net
And now, the viewer mail:
-- Thanks to all who answered Chris' question on where he stands on the
season-ticket waiting list. Todd says he's checked with the Packers ticket
office, which says "the waiting list number is your number (in line), not
the number of tickets ahead of you." Each person in line can buy up to 4
tickets when, or if, their number comes up.
-- Peter is seeking "history on the Packers board of directors. Who were
members, when did they join, their term, etc." If you can help, he's at
Kelly931@aol.com
Still more folks seeking places to watch the Packers. If you can help,
their addresses follow.
-- Davon is seeking a place on Atlanta's west side, or advice from other
Atlanta folks. He's at DBrown@medline.com
-- Bob in Columbus, Ohio, says "now that the Cleveland Browns are back,
there does not seem to be a good place to watch the Pack." If you know of
one, he's at bobnlynne@corecomm.net
-- Ryan is new to Emporia, Kan. He's at yunkersr@emporia.edu
-- Donna will be in Charlotte, N.C., for the Monday night game against the
Seahawks. She's at MJHCHRIST@qgraph.com
-- For the record, last week's putrid poetry, filed with Keith's weather
forecasts from Norman, Okla.
One path our Desmond knows,
To dodge his receiver woes,
Take the first kick,
Juke and score quick,
Then strike a Heisman pose.
That's it for now. As always, your comments and questions are welcome at
jeffash@netnet.net
This week's sources: Green Bay Press-Gazette
(http://www.greenbaypressgazette.packersnews.com), Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel (http://www.jsonline.com/packer/news/) and Packers
(http://www.packers.com) web pages. If you're seeking the Packers' current
roster, it's at packers.com
To try to follow the Packers via Internet radio, check these sites:
packers.com or
connect.net
or premier.packers.com (the latter is the Packers' pay site)
-- Adventures with Evan: 3 hours of junior kindergarten twice a week is not
enough for Evan, who is thrilled to be back with his friends at preschool.
He didn't want to leave when Janet went to pick him up last Thursday, so
we've arranged for him to stay in the extended program (2 more hours of
activities). ... I think this is a good thing: Evan can answer the phone
and carry on a conversation or call Mom or Dad to the phone as needed. ...
Evan got a thank-you card from his Sunday school teacher today. After Janet
helped open it, he stood in front of the couch, reading it silently,
sticking out his tongue a la Michael Jordan as he concentrated on it. Then
he sidled up to Mom and read almost all of it to her out loud. ... Evan
continues to shoot up. He won't be 5 for another 5 months and is already
comfortable in size 6 clothes.
Now, some housekeeping matters:
-- As our time allows, Scott and I would like to create an archive of all
my Packers updates to be kept at the South End Zone web site. However, I no
longer have any of the updates published before Jan. 23, 1995, so this is a
call to any longtime reader that may have squirreled these away. If you
have any of the updates from the beginning sometime in July 1994 to Jan.
23, 1995, please drop me a line at jeffash@netnet.net
-- Just a friendly reminder that this is not the place to look for tickets.
There's a tickets page on the South End Zone (http://www.southendzone.com).
-- Also, I can't list requests for videotapes of games. Too much demand.
-- If you resend these updates to friends, please encourage them to get
their own free subscription.
Here's why: If you're forwarding to an outdated or invalid e-mail address,
or to someone who doesn't want the updates, those messages bounce back to
Scott, who maintains our free mailing list. He can't remove someone who
isn't on our list, and he keeps getting the bounced messages over and over.
That, I assure you, is irritating.
Help us out by encouraging your friends to get their own free subscription.
Instructions are listed at the end of every update.
-- As usual, if you wish to show your appreciation for these Packers
updates, volunteer or make a donation to the charity of your choice. Thanks
as always to Janet for saving the papers and to Scott for providing the
mail service and the web space on South End Zone.
Thanks, Jeff
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