Showing posts with label Super Bowl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Super Bowl. Show all posts

Sunday, February 5, 2012

It only SEEMS like forever! 38 very long & wistful years since Super Bowl success for Dolphins. What's next for beleaguered Dolfans?

Vince Lombardi Championship Trophies from Dolphin victories in Super Bowl VII and VIII.
April 2007 photo by Mario J. Bermudez taken at Miami Dolphins Headquarters, Davie, Florida.


Sports Illustrated January 21, 1974
Zonk! Miami Massacres Minnesota
Larry Csonka

It's why you play the game.

For more on this longstanding wistfulness, see my Super Bowl blog post from last year, February 6, 2011,
"Lombardi. A certain magic still lingers in the very name. It speaks of duels in the snow and cold November mud..."; Packers will win by at least 8!
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/lombardi-certain-magic-still-lingers-in.html

Saturday, December 17, 2011

After watching this, I'm convinced: singing & dancing flash mob across the U.S.A. during Super Bowl's halftime would be more fun than watching Madonna



Madcon - Glow - 2009 Eurovision Song Contest Flashmob Dance Finale (HD), Oslo, Norway. May 2009. http://youtu.be/32lpdFS7rPM

It starts a little slow, I'll grant you, but at 2:19, as the cameras leave the arena, then, serendipity...

After watching this, I'm convinced that a televised singing and dancing flash mob across the U.S.A., during the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show, would be MUCH MORE FUN to see than simply watching Madonna perform a medley of her well-known songs in Indy at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Or, perhaps more interesting than even that, would be to have it televised from the two cities which have teams playing, as people sing and dance wearing their -quite likely- Green Bay Packer cheeseheads and Baltimore Ravens purple jerseys and gear.

Me, I never watch the Super Bowl pre-game programming anymore, as there are far too many 'human interest' stories with female reporters trying to look empathetic as they interview some special-team player's sister's husband's barber with cancer, or the like.
I usually mute the TV during Super Bowl halftime anyway, and flip on the radio telecast to hear their analysis, so this would actually be more fun and amusing to watch and see how each city tries to top the other somehow.
And it would be easy to find a commercial sponsor, too!

Whatever happened to all the genuinely dangerous flash mobs, anyway?
Like the ones that terrorized Chicagoland and Philadelphia this spring and summer, which I wrote about here, along with some startling videos?
They seem to have stopped in their tracks once 'Occupy Wall Street' came on the scene.
Hmm-m...

Then again, maybe it's just a spring and summer phenomena...

-----

In case you forgot why the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest -above- was being held in the Oslo area in the first place, it was because Norway's Alexander Rybak had won the 2009 competition in Moscow with "Fairytale", and the next competition is always hosted by the winner's home country.



EUROVISION 2009 WINNER -NORWAY, ALEXANDER RYBAK, FAIRYTALE -HQ STEREO
http://youtu.be/uiH4BFTELME

-----
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlexanderRybakVideo/


http://www.alexanderrybak.com/

Sunday, February 6, 2011

"Lombardi. A certain magic still lingers in the very name. It speaks of duels in the snow and cold November mud..."; Packers will win by at least 8!


"...He stood for everything that was solid and successful in American sports. He remains for many, the very heart of pro football, pumping hard right now. Every year the winner of the Super Bowl is awarded the Vincent Lombardi Trophy. His legacy is the greatest prize the game can offer."
-John Facenda for NFL Films


The Sport of the '60's

The Sport of the \
Green Bay Coach Vince Lombardi; December 21, 1962

Seven years later to the date of this cover, Lombardi coached his last game, a losing effort for the Redskins. Nine months later he'd be dead of intestinal cancer at age 57. The Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University is named for him.
See http://lombardi.georgetown.edu/

http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.aspx?PLAYER_ID=132


The first sports-related piece of clothing I ever had was a shirt that I wore in the Fall as a kid living in Memphis in the mid-sixties, age five or six, which my father had bought at a Dept. store. It was made with what I'd now call sweatshirt-quality cotton and was certainly far too heavy to wear in the oppressive summer heat that Memphis excelled in producing -with no sweat!

It was sort of an oatmeal/mustard combination of a color with green stripes on the shoulder, with a big green 5 on the front and back.
Yes, The Golden Boy, Paul Hornung!
http://gretawire.blogs.foxnews.com/paul-hornung-5/

I wish I still had that shirt now!

Vince Lombardi Championship Trophies

Vince Lombardi Championship Trophies; April 2007 photo by Mario J. Bermudez

"It's why you play the game!" -Herm Edwards


Vince Lombardi Championship Trophies from Miami Dolphin victories in Super Bowl VII and VIII,
at Dolphins HQ, Davie, FL; April 2007 photo by Mario J. Bermudez


Zonk! Miami Massacres Minnesota

Zonk! Miami Massacres Minnesota
Larry Csonka, January 21, 1974


Miami All The Way
Miami All The Way
Bob Griese, January 22, 1973

1972 Miami Dolphins team photo at The Orange Bowl

1972 Miami Dolphins team photo at The Orange Bowl
This is identical to the photo of the 17-0 Undefeated Team that for six years, rested in a frame on top of my bedroom dresser at my home in North Miami Beach. There it stayed 'till that fateful day in August of 1979, when I began packing for my new life in Bloomington. The photo made the trip to Bloomington intact, where it remained on my desk in my room, Briscoe Quad 427-A, for two very eventful years at IU, the latter being 1981, the year we beat North Carolina for the NCAA basketball title. I placed it right below my 8'' x 11'' b&w glossy of the Miami Herald's All-County Gymnastics team. That squad was a tremendous team that featured many talented friends of mine from all around Dade County, as well as my own talented friends and classmates at North Miami Beach High
School, where my senior year, under the leadership of our beloved head coach, Peter Saponaro, we won the Florida state championship.

Even today, I can still name every player and coach on that amazing Dolphins team.


Building For The Super Bowl
Building For The Super Bowl

Miami Coach Don Shula, December 11, 1972As most of you regular readers to Hallandale Beach Blog know by now, the Dolphins' Perfect Season of 1972 was my first year as a Dolphins season ticket holder, and I was there for every single moment at the Orange Bowl: pre-season, regular season and playoff.
The most scared I ever was of the team losing was the Cleveland Browns divisional playoff game the day before Christmas, a 20-14 win. The tension was palpable.

What does everyone pictured above have in common?
Correct, they're all inductees in the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, located just 49 miles from my dad's hometown of Steubenville, Home of The Big Red, the part of Ohio
where my paternal ancestors have lived for over 200 years.
http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/
http://www.nfl.com/videos



I like the Packers by at least 8 over the Steelers in Super Bowl 45 tonight.
http://www.nfl.com/
http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/45

Monday, January 10, 2011

Worse than sad, it's true: Playboy's Hugh Hefner engaged to 24-year old woman who has never been alive when Dolphins were playing in Super Bowl game



Expressen TV video: Hugh Hefner friade till 24-å- ring

http://tv.expressen.se/noje/1.2269295/hugh-hefner-friade-till-24-aring

Worse than sad, it's true: Playboy's Hugh Hefner engaged to 24-year old Crystal Harris, a woman who has never been alive when Dolphins were playing in a Super Bowl game.

Perhaps that thought will sharpen in your mind the amount of time that has transpired since the Dolphins were very relevant to any serious discussion of elite NFL teams competing for the Lombardi Trophy.


Meanwhile, in other news affecting Playboy Enterprises...

TheWrap
Playboy to Go Private

Published: January 10, 2011 @ 6:06 am

By Dylan Stableford


Playboy is going private.


The board of directors for the iconic but struggling men's brand has agreed to 84-year-old founder Hugh Hefner's $6.15-per-share offer to take the company private.


Hefner first made a $5.50-per-share offer in July. The $6.15-per-share price represents an 18.3 percent premium over the stock price at close on Friday and a 56 percent premium over the closing price at the time of Hef's initial offer.


The new offer puts the value of the company at about $207.3 million. On Monday morning, Playboy's stock price jumped more than 16 percent on the news.


Read the rest of the post at:
http://www.thewrap.com/media/column-post/breaking-playboy-goes-private-23768

Playboy's press release at:
http://www.playboyenterprises.com/home/content.cfm?content=t_template&packet=7006C185-E06B-679F-4140890A93180DBD&MmenuFlag=news&ArtTypeID=0002043D-FF53-1C7B-9B578304E50A011A&CFID=8461596&CFTOKEN=41304166


What's my Line? Hugh Hefner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrKJJge66YI

http://www.playboyenterprises.com/

See also:
New York Times Opinionator blog
Last Call at the Bunny Roundup
By Timothy Egan,
January 6, 2011, 9:00 pm

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/06/last-call-at-the-bunny-roundup/#more-76009,

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/playboy-enterprises-inc/index.html?scp=2&sq=Playboy&st=cse,

and

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/galleries/hugh_hefners_many_women/hugh_hefners_many_women.html




Above, May 1, 2007 photo by Mario J. Bermudez of Vince Lombardi Championship Trophies won by Miami Dolphins for Super Bowl VII and VIII, taken at Miami Dolphins HQ, Davie, FL.




Super Bowl Highlights, January 20, 1985, San Francisco 49ers vs. Miami Dolphins.
January 20th, 1985, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/123666/super-bowl-highlights-1985-super-bowl-xix-san-francisco-49ers-vs-miami-dolphins

Ten days from now will mark 26 YEARS since the Dolphins were relevant to the discussion of elite NFL teams. We got proof positive on Saturday that this isn't likely to change with the current Stephen Ross regime in place, as Miami Herald Dolphins beat reporter Armando Salguero confirms here:

The Saturday meeting with the media (w/ audio)

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2011/01/the-so-called-round-table-the-dolphins-planned-to-set-the-record-straight-for-what-has-happened-over-the-past-week-and-announ.html

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

A reminder as the NFL Draft approaches... 36 years and counting for a 3rd Super Bowl Trophy. Answer: C.J. Spiller

36 years and counting for a 3rd Super Bowl Trophy...
36 years and counting for a 3rd Super Bowl Trophy...

"It's why you play the game!"
Vince Lombardi Championship Trophies from Dolphin victories
in Super Bowl VII and VIII.
April 2007 photo by Mario J. Bermudez taken at Miami Dolphins
Headquarters, Davie, Florida


Green Bay Coach Vince Lombardi; December 21, 1962
Seven years later to the date of this cover, Lombardi coached his
last game, a losing effort for the Redskins.
Nine months later he'd be dead of intestinal cancer at age 57.
The Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown
University is named for him. See http://lombardi.georgetown.edu/

It's located near the French and German Embassies on Reservoir Road.



Zonk! Miami Massacres Minnesota

Zonk! Miami Massacres Minnesota
Larry Csonka, January 21, 1974

Miami All The Way

Miami All The Way
Bob Griese, January 22, 1973

1972 Miami Dolphins team photo at The Orange Bowl
1972 Miami Dolphins team photo at The Orange Bowl
The same color photo of the 17-0 Undefeated Team that for six years,
rested in a frame on top of my bedroom dresser at my home in North
Miami Beach. There it stayed 'till that fateful day in August of 1979,
when I began packing for my new life in Bloomington. The photo made
the trip to Bloomington intact, where it remained on my desk in
Briscoe Quad 427-A for two very eventful years at IU, the latter.
1980-'81 being the year we beat North Carolina for the NCAA title.
I placed the photo right below my 8' x 11' b&w glossy of the Miami
Herald's All-County Gymnastics team that I got from the Herald
Sports Dept. That was a tremendously talented team that featured
many friends of mine from all over Dade County -like the late Dee
Leutner
of Hialeah Miami Lakes, my charming, sweet friend and
future Georgia GymDog, who
sat next to me when we took the SATs
in the NMB
cafeteria, and smiled at me and said "Good luck" right
before we opened the test- as well as my own talented friends and
classmates at North Miami Beach High, like Lisa Martin, Karen
Ginsberg
and Linda Zobler -the best of the best.

Last year, it was a Hoosier who led the way to the Lombardi Trophy...

Above, former IU Hoosier and Saints 2008 Number Two
Draft Pick Tracy Porter makes the play of the game and
intercepts Peyton Manning and scores a TD against the
Colts during Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, leading the Saints
to their first Super Bowl 31-17,
Feb. 7, 2010.

With the 11th pick in this year's Draft, if he's still available,
as Charley Casserly expects him to be as of late Wedesday
night,
the Dolphins should take dynamic Clemson RB
C.J. Spiller, the single-most exciting player I've seen
in years and who
consistently made big plays when
big plays needed to be
made.

Almost single-handedly last year,
Spiller defeated the
Hurricanes
in a way that showed how woebegone the
Miami
defense and special teams had become, as he
seemingly toyed with them time and again.






If he has already been selected, they should select a player
who
most approaches Bears Hall of Famer Mike Singletary,
a player who had zeal, smarts and intuition, and who plays
all-out on every play and won't tolerate slacking in his
teammates.
That would likely be Texas LB
Sergio Kindle.

The lack of mental and physical toughness in the Dolphins
defense the past ten years has been one of the most galling

aspects of their decline into mediocrity for longtime Dolphin
fans like me, who have lived long enough to know what a
solid defense actually looks like.
It's NOT what we have now.

Their inability to consistently pass rush, tackle and field
opportunistic ball-hawks just leaves you dumbfounded at times.
It's nice to beat the Patriots once a year, but one good game
does not a season make.


With their second round pick, if he's available -and Spiller
has gone elsewhere- the Dolphins ought to select Stanford
RB and Heisman Trophy runner-up Toby Gerhart
before
the Patriots snap him up.

At New England, Gerhart would become the latest
Dolphin-killer
as he becomes the player who always
leads the Patriots to late-game victories, year-after-year,
with his versatility: powerful goal-line plunges, scampers
down the sidelines on draw plays, or swing passes where
he -shocker!- beats Dolphins' LBs, and you're screaming
at your TV even before he scores a TD to kill the Dolphins
once again.
Made worse because we could've taken him.

I suppose it's worth reminding you here given recent news
that I've never been a Jason Taylor fan, and wanted him
gone years ago when he could still demand something in a
trade.

I remind you how lacking he was in leadership at the very
end of Cam Cameron's painful one and only year as head
coach, when some leadership was needed and yet from
most accounts, Taylor sat by and did nothing when defensive
teammates cursed-out coaches on plane flights, including
Cameron, and played out-of-control during games,
as if they didn't know their assignments.
Or simply didn't care anymore.

His coddled status irked me to no end and probably did him
no favors with Bill Parcells, either.

But what really irked me about him was the clueless rhetoric
down here on sports talk radio about him and Canton, as
real NFL fans around the country who know their history
know that Taylor was simply not as good or dominant as
former Bears great Richard Dent, a Super Bowl MVP,
who twenty years later, unbelievably, is still NOT in the
Pro Football Hall of Fame, even though he should've gotten
in MANY years ago.

If a dominant player of his era like Dent, who dominated
good-to-great offensive teams like the 49ers, Redskins and
Giants is STILL not in all these years later, Jason Taylor
ought to make himself comfortable, as he's in for a very,
very long wait -IF he ever gets in, which I think is unlikely.

Miami Dolphins South Beach Hoosier Trivia:
My first Dolphin game at the Orange Bowl came in December
of 1970, aged 9, a 45-3 win over Buffalo that propelled them
into their first ever playoff appearance.



Thursday, August 23, 2007

Sale of Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa

Many more interesting posts are soon going to be making their way off the draft page and into the blog, replete with photos to illuminate the point, but until then, please see some recent posts at parent blog SouthBeachHoosier, regarding
1. some historical perspective on the move of the U-M Hurricanes to the former Joe Robbie Stadium
2. the history of some of the City of Miami hijinks that caused Mr. Robbie to flee the Orange Bowl in the first place, and
3. the prospective sale of the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, the Alexandria Lighthouse of south Broward County. http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/pharos.html