KRC

Last I heard, the NFL still plans to release it at the normal time, regardless of the lockout.

Another thing is sometimes people start off as a**holes, but will warm up to you. For example, I was talking with a former player recently (I won't give names). He was a complete a**. After talking with him a little, he started to warm up. Now, we are good friends. Some celebrities are naturally guarded because there are a ton of people who want to take advantage of them, or more correctly, want to take advantage of their celebrity. Not saying that the kid was trying to do that here, but some celebrities will just have a general rule not to do anything. Since there are a lot of celebrities that are willing to give of their time, focus your time with them and not on the ones that do not. I follow the same philosophy when interviewing football people. There are plenty of people who are willing to speak with me. I do not waste too much time with those who choose not to speak to me. I just move on.

I think we have learned the following from this little episode: 1) If you don't get what you want, guilt people into giving it to you. 2) Celebrities can sometimes be a**holes. I deal with players, coaches, owners and administrators throughout the NFL, beit at the team level or in the NFL offices, NFL Films or the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The a**hole quotient is pretty high. You will also have people that are wonderful to work with and are generous with their time. In life, you learn that you do not always get what you want, regardless of your situation. At no point does your situation trump anything else.

No need to resort to drastic measures.

HFBD!!!

He is a great guy. My best to Steve for a speedy recovery!!

He has a right to say stupid things and we have a right to criticize his stupid statements. Ain't it great?

They tried that once. It didn't go over very well.

Thank you for the plug and the compliments.

At that time, things were changing. There was limited substitution, so you could have a few specialists. If you look at the starting rosters, you could usually tell whether the team started on offense or defense. For example, if Otto Graham was not the starting QB, you knew that the Browns started on defense. However, the bulk of the players were still two-way. Art mainly played offensive center.

Thank you.

Art played for the AAFC Buffalo Bills. He passed away March 2. He was a wonderful man. I have had many conversations with him and we was always very generous with his time and had great stories to tell. I will tell you one of them: He rarely played defense, but was put in against the Cleveland Browns. His responsibility was to cover Edgar "Special Delivery" Jones. A second or two after the snap, he hears "Hey, Otto!" The ball went sailing over his head and into the arms of a streaking Jones, who ran it in for a touchdown. He said, "That was the last time they had me in on defense. All I remember was Jones saying 'Hey, Otto!'" Obit R.I.P. Art Statuto

A co-worker of mine rides a Triumph. He loves it.

It is non-binding. Therefore, neither side has to really listen to the mediator and the mediator has no authority over either side. However, the fact that they are even taking this step is a nice touch.

Who?

I am probably picking some nits here, but I would disagree with Dan Rooney inheriting his fortune and not being a self-made millionare/billionare. His fortune obviously came primarily from the Steelers. Dan was an integral part of the team since the early 1950s and was a part of all league meetings and discussions. The team faced financial trouble for at least the first two decades while under the control of Art Rooney. He didn't just inherit a team. He built the team. Dan was just as much a part of building the Steelers and the league as his father. Personally, I would remove him from that list and bump him to the top list. He built the fortune he inherited.

He said I could reference the old Bills. Just a side note: Briscoe is a great interview. Piccone and Joe D were also great people to speak with, but completely different personalities. Not for you. Dippy got his name in college. He fell on a patch of ice and hurt his knee. He took a shot of Novocain and it made him "Dippy." The name stuck. Bill Gompers does not know how he got the name Bushel Foot (or, he did not want to tell me). He got his foot stuck in a bucket in the locker room and they started calling him Bushel Foot. The name never went away. It didn't make sense to him.

Gil "Cactus Face" Duggan Fred "Dippy" Evans Paul "Spider" Gibson Bill "Bushel Foot" Gompers Ed "Buckets" Hirsch Harry "Hippity" Hopp Al "Buckets" Wukits

Since Lombardi was only the coach for one season (died in 1970), he obviously can only be judged on that one season. His 1969 roster was essentially the same as the 1968 roster, but with the addition of Sam Huff at linebacker. Huff had retired after the 1967 season, but Lombardi convinced him to return. Lombardi was able to improve the team slightly on both sides of the ball from the previous year, but the change was small enough that it could have been a statistical anomoly. I would hardly say that he sucked (as mentioned by the previous poster), but his tenure was too short to get any gauge on what he would have done with the Redskins. I think that his legacy is safe.

When they get to the main room, the seniors are rubber stamped (for the most part). My problem is the candidates presented as the two nominees. At least one of the two have been a joke.

Tradition. Sportswriters were always the one that selected the best players of each year (precursors to the All-Pro and Pro Bowl lists). It was naturally thought that they were the most knowledgeable. You would also get great players of the game and innovators to select lists (Walter Camp, Knute Rockne, etc). They just kept that tradition when they started the HOF process. My problem with it is that most of the writers really do not know about the older players (ones that played before they started covering the NFL). As a result, the seniors candidates suffer.

He holds more sway as the Buffalo representative than as the PFWA president. Good for Mark and thanks to Charean Williams for her service for the last two years.

Ralph Felton passed away January 22. Obit Stats

Yeah, you are right. My bad. Sorry.

...or that Hutson fellow, but that was before pro football began.