Archives for May 3, 2009

‘”You never saw fear in his eyes. You always saw confidence. And I saw that in his political career, too,” Hall of Fame guard Billy Shaw said. “That’s what made Jack the man he was. His ability to rise to the occasion-whether it was on the football field or the political field-and always come up with a solution.”‘

‘President Barack Obama said yesterday that Kemp would “fiercely advocate” beliefs while remembering “lessons he learnt years earlier on the football field: that bitter divisiveness between race and class and station only stood in the way of the ‘common aim of a team to win’ ”.’

‘Kemp used his muscles to rise to the top levels of professional football and then his brain to promote economic growth as a politician.’

‘Kemp co-founded the AFL’s player union and served as its president for five years. He worked as a special assistant to Reagan — then California’s governor — in 1967, and for the Republican National Committee in 1969.’

‘At any rate, I can easily picture Kemp grabbing Saimes by the shoulder and exclaiming, "So you favor socialism!"’

‘”Sometimes when you have a group tryout it can deteriorate pretty fast and this was really good,” said Jauron. “I think there are some guys in this tryout group that we’ll try to bring back, at least for our OTAs and maybe for training camp.”‘

‘”We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Jack Kemp. Jack remains a legendary figure in our team’s history, having led our 1964 and ’65 teams to the American Football League Championship titles. His many outstanding unique qualities made him the exemplary role model of leadership for our team and later for our country. While today’s news brings us much sadness, we cherish the many fond memories of Jack the loving husband and father, Jack the quarterback and Jack the congressman and we celebrate his life well lived. We extend our deepest sympathies to his wife Joanne and their entire family.”‘

‘”It’s definitely a great opportunity,” Bell said. “I would definitely say it’s my dream now, but I slowly realized it was my dream. The last couple of years, I’ve been working hard trying to get here, and now I’m working hard to stay. You just take it in stride, be cool about everything and go with the flow.”‘

‘”I talked to him for about 15 minutes backstage,” Sargeant said. “Everybody else got his autograph, but I’ll trade an autograph for a conversation. I think I was more nervous backstage talking to him than I was on the stage.”‘

‘They are counting on too many position switches, including ones expected by three of their first four picks, Wood, Levitre and defensive back Jairus Byrd of Oregon. They also plan to switch Oklahoma safety Nic Harris, their fifth-round selection. All four are considered possible starters. Sometime position switches work but more often they don’t.’

‘”Buffalo, N. Y., is my hometown,” he told the crowd on Aug. 18, 1996. “Don’t let anybody tell you it’s not. And I want you to know I learned every lesson in politics and football from being a congressman and a quarterback for the Buffalo Bills.”‘

‘"What I noticed at the Senior Bowl was he competed in the run game," said Bills tight ends coach Charlie Coiner. "That was a rare feat for tight ends coming out this year. There were maybe five or six that really competed in the run game. He was one of them. He didn’t win every battle because of his size and [lack of] strength right now. But he competed and that was enough based on his athletic ability in the pass game."’

‘"I’m a little surprised he was still there, quite frankly," said director of college scouting Tom Modrak, though as a qualifier it must be pointed out that Modrak and other personnel men say that about most of the players they pick.’

‘The cause was cancer, said his son Jimmy Kemp. Jack Kemp’s Washington consulting and lobbying firm, Kemp Partners, announced in January that he had cancer but did not disclose the type.’

‘Mr. Kemp was regarded as an unusual sort of Republican, combining fiscal and social conservatism with support for civil rights, affirmative action and rights for illegal immigrants. He called himself “a bleeding-heart conservative.”‘