Green Bay Update
by Jeff Ash, jeffash@netnet.net
Friday, December 22, 2000
"Green Bay update, Friday 12/22"
Greetings from Green Bay on a clear, sunny morning with a wind chill of 17
below. It has been this cold for a week, and will be for a week to come. At
least it isn't snowing. We have enough for now, thanks. There's 2 feet of
snow in the yard, so I think Santa should have no trouble getting his sleigh
here.
Janet, Evan and I hope all of you have a happy, healthy, safe holiday with
family and friends. Perhaps the Packers will deliver another Christmas Eve
gift as they did 5 years ago, when they wrapped up the NFC Central title
with a win over the Steelers at a snowy Lambeau Field.
Needing to win to wrap up the NFC's last wild-card playoff berth, the
Packers (8-7) play the Buccaneers (10-5) at a snowy Lambeau Field at noon
Sunday. It'll be televised regionally on Fox, with Ray Bentley and Ron Pitts
on the call.
It'll also be on the Packer Radio Network, with Wayne Larrivee and Larry
McCarren on the call. This radio coverage is available for free on the
Internet, with the game broadcasts offered via the Packers' web site
(http://www.packers.com) and 3 hours each of pregame and postgame
programming offered via WTMJ radio in Milwaukee (http://www.wtmj.com or
620wtmj.com).
-- There is just one way for the Packers to get into the playoffs. They must
beat the Bucs. The Bears must beat the Lions at the Silverdome. The Saints
must beat the Rams in New Orleans.
-- Here's the early forecast from Keith, our longtime Update meteorologist
in Norman, Okla.: Partly cloudy and frigid. High in the low teens. Slight
chance of light snow or flurries, especially in the morning, improving skies
in the afternoon. North wind 10-15 mph. For updates, check Keith's web site
(http://www.galstar.com/~kbrews/packwx).
Here is Keith's take on the game:
On the Eve of Christmas, near Neenah-Menash',
Divisional foes in a late-season clash;
To the tundra, quite frozen,
Come the Bucs, wool-hosen,
Bearing Who-pudding and cans of Who-hash.
-- If you're going to the game, take a blanket or something to sit on, and
walk carefully in the stands There is snow and ice all over the stadium,
even though we shoveled it out on Wednesday morning. The Packers put out the
call for help on Tuesday, and about 350 folks came from all over the state
to help dig out the seats after 6 inches of snow fell Monday and Tuesday.
I've been off all week, so I decided to go. It probably was my last chance
to see Lambeau Field before the renovation. I worked with a guy from Racine
who had never been in the stadium. He paused from time to time, just gazing
out at the tarp-covered field and the stands, soaking in the experience. No
one minded. An interesting group of folks shoveling snow onto long aluminum
slides and sending it down over the railing and onto the sidelines. College
kids home on break, old-timers who have been helping since the '60s and a
fair number of folks who looked like they could use the $7 an hour being
paid by the Packers. On my way out, I walked up the ramp to the seats in the
north end zone, right next to the tunnel where the Packers come onto the
field and soaked in the atmosphere. A bright sun behind thin clouds, framed
by the goalposts. I'd have walked down the ramp to the field, but I didn't
want to get hit by one of the trucks clearing the snow.
But I digress.
-- The Packers stayed alive with a delightful 33-28 win over the Vikings
last Sunday at the Metrodome. Delightful especially for all the Packers fans
in the Twin Cities, the rest of Minnesota and western Wisconsin, who have
full bragging rights for another year.
News and notes from the week:
-- RB Ahman Green took the offensive linemen out for dinner this week to
thank them for helping him surpass 1,000 yards rushing. He's at 1,101 yards,
tied with Jim Taylor's 1960 output for 8th on the Packers' season rushing
list. The remarkable thing is that Green has done it in roughly 10 games. If
Green gets 69 or more yards against the Bucs, he'll finish 4th on the
Packers' season rushing list, behind Taylor (1,474 in 1962 and 1,307 in
1961) and Dorsey Levens (1,435 in 1997), and leaping past John Brockington
and Terdell Middleton.
-- CB Tod McBride may miss the Bucs game. He has a hairline fracture in his
leg, just below his right knee. He hasn't practiced all week, but will see
how it goes at Saturday's walkthrough. If he can't play, look for Allen
Rossum as the 6th DB in the dime pass defense. ... Otherwise, relatively
minor injuries that are slowing players but won't keep them out. TE Ryan
Wetnight is back at practice after sitting out last week with the lingering
effects of a concussion. LB Chris Gizzi has a sore hamstring and S Scott
McGarrahan has a sore shoulder. WR Antonio Freeman has a tight quadriceps,
didn't practice Wednesday and rode a stationary bike along the sidelines to
stay loose in the Vikings game. TE Tyrone Davis hyperextended a toe on his
big 41-yard catch against the Vikings. ... Levens, T Earl Dotson and WR
Corey Bradford again will be out of Sunday's game, though Bradford still
hopes to be available should there be a playoff game.
-- LB Eugene McCaslin is wasting little time in trying to make an impression
after being promoted from the practice squad last week. One of the fastest
players on the team, he worked this week as a WR on the scout team in
practice. He's 6-1, 226 and played RB for 3 seasons at Florida before moving
to LB in his senior season. Never say never. The Packers used T Mike Wahle
at TE late in the Vikings game, mostly as a blocker for Green as they tried
to burn the clock.
-- The Packers filled the practice squad vacancy by signing S Warner
Herndon. He's 22, 6-1, 210, an undrafted rookie out of Morgan State. He was
cut by the Seahawks during training camp.
-- WR coach Ray Sherman interviewed Monday for the head coaching job at the
University of Georgia. If hired, he'd be the 1st African-American football
coach in the Southeastern Conference. (Nice work by Fox Sports News, who put
up a picture of Mike Sherman when the anchor was talking about Ray Sherman.)
... Don't be surprised if there are a couple of shuffles among the assistant
coaches after the season beyond Ray Sherman and RB coach Kippy Brown, who's
off to coach the Memphis Maniax of the XFL.
-- Next year will be the last year the Packers will wear the Nike uniforms.
All NFL teams will wear Reebok uniforms starting in 2002, beginning a
10-year deal in which the NFL hopes to roll out some more fashionable
merchandise. Speaking of which, the Packers rank 3rd in the league in
merchandise sales, behind only the Cowboys and Titans.
-- The Green Bay City Council has approved the lease for the renovated
Lambeau Field. It now goes to the stadium for final approval. And, yes, a 10
percent ticket tax is still in the lease.
That's it. Because I work this weekend, I have last-minute holiday details
to take care of. You must, too, if you want to enjoy Sunday's game with a
clear conscience.
As always, your questions and comments are welcome at the new address:
jeffash@new.rr.com
Adventures with Evan: This has been a hard week for a 5-year-old awaiting
Christmas. He's wired. It's been hard to concentrate at school, but Evan did
a terrific job in his holiday concert on Wednesday afternoon in the Webster
School gym. Despite a brief fascination with the buttons on his bright red
holiday sweater vest, he sang on all 3 songs and did most of the gestures
accompanying the songs. ... Evan also did a great job as a sheep in the
church pageant last Sunday. ... Evan has reminded us several times to put
out milk and cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve, but has added a new twist.
He told me we have to leave carrots out for the reindeer. But where? "On the
roof." So I suspect we'll be out throwing carrots on the roof over the
weekend. Our little tradition. ... As we were waiting for our new windows to
be put in early last week, we put up a skinny little Charlie Brown tree with
a few decorations early last week. When Evan and I went to the tree lot to
get Grandma's tree, they were giving away kids' trees, essentially the
topped portions of bigger trees. He picked out, we set it up and he
decorated it. Now it's making the basement more festive, along with our
chili pepper lights, which probably will stay up until his birthday next
month. ... I realized earlier this week that Evan hadn't visited with Santa,
as he usually did in preschool. Gotta do that when you're 5. So we went
downtown. We walked through a huge tree with animated displays much like
those we used to see in the windows at Prange's in Sheboygan (and Green Bay,
of course) more than 30 years ago. The tree also triggered the memory of
Bruce the Spruce, a talking tree that was part of the Christmas displays at
Prange's all those years ago. I tried to explain it to Evan, but he was more
interested in the Nutcracker display surrounding Santa's seat. In any case,
Evan climbed up on Santa's lap, shyly told him his name and that he was "5
and three-quarters," then rattled off a short list of wishes. Then Evan
climbed off, flashed a grin, cocked his arm and dashed off.
This week's soundtrack: A friend burned a CD full of the rock and pop
Christmas tunes we both collect. Thanks as always, Joe. Also, "Christmas
Island" by Leon Redbone, and a little Louis Armstrong from "Santa Claus
Blues," a bunch of jazz and swing classics from the '20s to the '50s.
This week's sources: Green Bay Press-Gazette (http://www.packersnews.com),
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (http://www.jsonline.com/packer/news/) and
Packers (http://www.packers.com) web pages. Check the Packers' current
roster at packers.com
-- If you wish to show your appreciation for these Packers updates,
volunteer or make a donation to the charity of your choice. 'Tis the season
for that, you know.
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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