College football news and memories; National Football Foundation honoring Wilber Marshall

I'm watching this now!

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Some college football news worth reading about from some emails I received over the weekend straight from the National Football Foundation.

You'll note that former Gator great Wilber Marshall is among the new class,whom I watched and followed closely with the great Super Bowl-winning Bears and Redskins teams while I was living in Chicago/Evanston in the mid-'80's, and then later in Washington, D.C.

He was such a joy to watch!

Just the sheer anticipation of the hits he was about to deliver used to get my friends literally jumping out of their chairs when we'd watch them on TV.

I'd love to see a game b/w that '85 Bears team and the '91 Redskins team that was so methodical and powerful. Having seen both in person, at Soldier Field and RFK Stadium, it'd be a hell of a game to watch.

Now that I think about it, that's one of those match ups that ESPN should've thought of a few years ago when they had that series that incorporated contemporaneous film footage to have teams of different eras play one another to determine who was better.

I usually avoided watching those qhen they were on TV, mostly because I disagreed with the selection of the teams, since it always seemed to have the bias that because the great Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers won the Super Bowls, they'd win the fantasy games.

But the problem is, as we know, that the best team doesn't always win, which is why having the 1968-69 Baltimore Colts team that lost to the Jets in Super Bowl III play the Len Dawson-led Chiefs team that won the Super Bowl a year later against the Vikings, would've been a great match. Don Shula and Unitas/Morrall against Hank Stram and Len Dawson?

Or what about the the great high-powered Vikings team with Randy Moss that choked against the Giants in the NFC championship, actually play the Ravens team that won that year?

Hell, I'd watch those games now!

See Jon Saraceno's great USAT column on Wilber Marshall before the Bears-Colts Super Bowl downpour down here: Marshall's torments not likely to fade

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/saraceno/2007-01-31-wilber-marshall_x.htm

I'm someone who from an early age, while growing up in San Antonio, then Memphis and finally Miami, followed college football more closely than just about anyone I ever met, reading Sports Illustrated and SPORT magazine from cover-to-cover, devouring all the books, films and videos on the subject and its history, while also meeting lots of people involved in it from the 1970's on.

That also included someone who played for one of the best teams of the era, the University of Michigan Wolverines, who was also football family royalty of a sort.

The person in question is Dave Elliott, a Wolverine defensive back from the early 1970's and the son of former Illinois and later U-M head football coach Pete Elliott, who himself later became the Executive Director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, who was one of my counselors when I attended the Bob Griese-Karl Noonan sports camp up in Boca Raton, three summers in a row from 1971-'74.

His personality and mine were somewhat similar, so we spent a lot of time talking about what it was like to play at a prominent big name school like Michigan, where there were always big expectations, plus, having a family name that was as well known as his was in the Midwest.

Plus, of course, his name was Dave, also.

He was also a key witness to my making an interception of Bob Griese in a flag football game and running about 80 yards for a touchdown, using my speed and moves to twice fake out a lunging Griese, who was my then-idol.

This was back in a time and place when I and all the fellow campers there in pre-cable, pre-ESPN America also knew where every single pro athlete who was at camp had gone to school, with Big Ten schools Purdue and Iowa being most prominent because that's where Griese and Noonan had gone and starred.

(This is the same camp where I first met future Emmy-winning sportscaster Roy Firestone, who I'd stay friends with for years -and who recommended I go to Syracuse- back when he was a U-M student who also toiled at Ralph Renick's WTVJ-Channel 4, back when they had the best sports talent in town under Bernie Rosen.

Roy and I kept in touch for many, many years, even after he left Miami and was doing very well out in LA. When it came time to consider schools, after the financial aid situation made it clear that USC was untenable, much to my disappointment, Roy recommended Syracuse to me over IU because of the growing pub of the Newhouse School of Communication, and the possible synergy b/w my own personality and career interests.
I stuck with IU and dropped him a line every so often of what was going on in Hoosierville as Coach Knight made college basketball relevant to someone who grew-up when the U-M didn't have a team.

Years later, when Roy came back for a family visit to Miami, and I was home from Bloomington for either the summer or Christmas, I showed up unexpectedly with my mother at WKAT over on Miami Beach -which had been the Braves weekend affiliate- when Chris Myers -now of FOX-TV- had a radio show, and had announced the night before that Roy would be a guest.

I figured I'd just say hi and talk for a few minutes before he had to go inside.

To Roy's surprise and mine, because Chris and I and the producers had chatted for a bit before the show, Chris surprised me by inviting me -and my mother- to go on the air with Roy for about an hour, as he recalled one great Roy anecdote after another, and I threw in a few when I could.

It was quite a blast.

Even now, I still recall a younger Roy up in Boca Raton going back and forth with Earl Morral's son, Matt, also a counselor, about whether the rock group Deep Purple would remain a studio band, or would tour. Odd the things your brain remembers!)

My conversations with Dave Elliott and his descriptions of what it was like to live in a real Midwestern college town like Ann Arbor, plus all the other stuff I had observed and absorbed by osmosis, are one of the reasons that I always knew from junior high school on, that I'd leave South Florida in the rear view mirror when it came time to go to college.

I wanted a college experience that was more like the ones I saw broadcast every Saturday on ABC's college football broadcasts with Keith Jackson and Chris Schenkel, than the all-too apathetic and blase reality of late '70's South Florida.

Bloomington offered me all the things I wanted -and much more.

I was totally captivated by the college experience that ABC presented in their three hours and knew that was exactly what I wanted, and that while Gainesville or Tallahassee might be fine for some of my friends, I and most of my smarter friends were getting the hell out of Florida, toute-de-suite!

That's why we headed to Princeton, Charlottesville and Boulder...

I recall having game programs of the Liberty Bowl games when I was six, asking my father's friend to get the game program for me for the 1968 Alabama at U-M game at the Orange Bowl, the first night college football game ever televised in color, and years later, when I was at North Miami Beach, seeing the photos of the NMB head football coach and an assistant coach who had played for that Hurricane team.

At my South Beach Hoosier blog, http://www.southbeachhoosier.blogspot.com/ I mention the following under the split-U logo and Sebastian the Ibis:

South Beach Hoosier's first U-M football game at the Orange Bowl was in 1972, age 11, against Tulane in the infamous "Fifth Down" game.

In order to drum up support and attendance for the U-M at the Orange Bowl, that game had a promotion whereby South Florida kids who were school safety patrols could get in for free IF they wore their sash. I did.

Clearly they knew that it was better to let kids in for free, knowing their parents would give them money to buy food and souvenirs, perhaps become a fan and want to return for future games.

The ballgame made an interesting impression on The New York Times, resulting in this gem from the "View of Sport" column of Oct, 14, 1990, labeled 'Fifth Down or Not, It's Over When It's Over.'

"In 1972, aided by a fifth-down officiating gift in the last moments of the game, Miami of Florida defeated Tulane, 24-21. The country and the world was a much different place that fall because The New York Times took time and space to editorialize on the subject.

''Is it right for sportsmen, particularly young athletes, to be penalized or deprived of the goals for which they earnestly competed because responsible officials make mistakes? The ideal of true sportsmanship would be better served if Miami forfeited last week's game.'

South Beach Hoosier hardly needs to tell you that this was YET another New York Times editorial that was completely ignored!

Before going to my first U-M game at the Orange Bowl in 1972, a friend's father often would bring me home an extra 'Canes game program. That's how I came to have the Alabama at U-M game program from Nov. 16, 1968, which was the first nationally-televised college football night game in color. (A 14-6 loss to the Crimson Tide.)

After that first ballgame against Tulane, as I often did for Dolphin games if my father wasn't going, I'd get dropped off at the Levitz parking lot near the 836 & I-95 Cloverleaf in NMB, and catch a Dade County Park & Ride bus, going straight to the Orange Bowl.

Once onboard, I'd get next to the window and listen to WIOD's pre-game show on my Radio Shack transistor radio.

A few times, I was just about the only person onboard besides the bus driver, which was alright by me. Once at the Orange Bowl, if I didn't already have a ticket, I'd buy a game program for myself and one or two for friends or teachers before heading to the ticket window, since you usually couldn't find a program vendor once inside.

I probably had a friend or my father with me for just under 40% of the U-M games I ever went to, but you have to remember that the team, though blessed with several talented players, like Chuck Foreman and Burgess Owens, was just so-so to average at best, and the games were usually played on Friday nights, so it wasn't exactly high on every one's list of things to do.

Depending upon the opponent, if I was alone, I'd often have entire areas of the Orange Bowl to myself. (Wish I had photos of that now!)

For instance, I had a good portion of the East (open) End Zone to myself against Oklahoma in the mid-70's, when the Boomer Schooner and the Schooner Crew went out on the field after an Oklahoma TD, and the Schooner received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty from the refs, as would happen years later in an Orangle Bowl Classic game. (Against FSU?)

I was there for the wins and losses under Pete Elliott, Carl Selmer & Lou Saban, and the huge on-field fight in '73 when under eventual national champion Notre Dame (then under Ara Parseghian), they called a time-out with less than a minute to go, and already up 37-0.

Their rationale? To score another TD and impress the AP football writers; final score 44-0.

Well, they got their wish and beat Alabama 24-23 for the title at the Sugar Bowl.

A year later, thanks to my Mom's boss, who had tickets he couldn't use, she and I saw Ara's last game as head coach of the Irish in the Orange Bowl Game from the East End Zone -in front of the Alabama cheerleaders!!!- in an exciting 13-11 Notre Dame win over Bear Bryant's Alabama Crimson Tide, and a rematch of the '73 national title game.

I was also present for the U-M's huge 20-15 win under Pete Elliott against Darrel Royal's Texas Longhorns, the week Sports Illustrated's College Football preview issue came out with Texas on the cover, above.

I was also present for lots of wins against schools called College of the Pacific, UNLV and Cal-Poly San Luis Obsispo, which I'd then never heard of before.

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excerpt

from Philip Marwill Dec 5
MEDIA ADVISORY

Contacts: Phil Marwill, the National Football Foundation

Email: pmarwill@footballfoundation.com
Dan Sabreen, CBS College Sports Network Email: dsabreen@cbs.com

THIS JUST IN...... from CBS College Sports Network
CBS College Sports Network announced today that the network will broadcast live the National Football Foundation's press conference for the 2008 NFF Annual Awards Dinner, including the induction of this year's College Football Hall of Fame Bowl Subdivision Class.

The press conference will air live from the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York on Tuesday, Dec. 9 from 9:30 - 11:30 AM, ET.

CBS College Sports Network will also provide live streaming video of the press conference available for free to all fans.

The press conference features National Football Foundation Chairman Archie Manning, 2008 Distinguished American Award recipient T. Boone Pickens, NFF Gold Medal recipient John Glenn, NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell and the 2008 College Football Hall of Fame Class, which includes Troy Aikman (UCLA), Billy Cannon (LSU), Jim Dombrowski (Virginia), Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern), Wilber Marshall (Florida), Rueben Mayes (Washington State), Randall McDaniel (Arizona State), Don McPherson (Syracuse), Jay Novacek (Wyoming), Dave Parks (Texas Tech), Ron Simmons (Florida State), Thurman Thomas (Oklahoma State), Arnold Tucker (Army) and coaches John Cooper and Lou Holtz.

CBS College Sports Network is available through local cable operators and nationally via satellite on DIRECTV Channel 613 and Dish Network Channel 152.
For more information on how to watch or subscribe to CBS College Sports Network, log on to http://www.sportsline.com/cbscollegesports/ _________________________________________
MEDIA ADVISORY

Dec. 9 Press Conference for NFF Annual Awards Dinner & College Football Hall of Fame Bowl Subdivision Inductees

WHO: Former U.S. Senator John Glenn, 2008 NFF Gold Medal recipient

T. Boone Pickens, 2008 NFF Distinguished American Award recipient

2008 College Football Hall of Fame Class - Football Bowl Subdivision (See list below)

2008 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class (See list below)

Archie Manning, NFF Chairman Steve Hatchell, NFF President & CEO

WHAT: Press Conference with access to John Glenn, T. Boone Pickens, the members of the 2008 hall of fame and scholar-athlete classes and the announcement of the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Finalists.

WHERE: The Empire Room at the Waldorf-Astoria, 301 Park Ave., New York, NY, 10022

WHEN: December 9, 2008 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EST

HOW: * In person * Conference call by clicking here to register.* Live satellite feed from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (See below for coordinates) or clean feed via a Vvxy line at Circuit #1847 at the Waterfront (Ascent Media) in NYC. You may also contact your news service (ABC NewsOne; NBC NewsChannel; CBS Newspath; Sports News Service, CNN Newsource, Fox Feed, etc.) for specific footage. Permission is granted for use for news purposes only.

NOTE 1: Live satellite and clean feed available of dinner ceremonies starting at 7:30 p.m. (See below for coordinates) or clean feed via a Vvxy line at Circuit #1847 at the Waterfront (Ascent Media) in NYC. You may also contact your news service to request specific footage. Permission is granted for use for news purposes only. The Draddy Trophy winner will be announced live between 8:30 and 9 p.m. during this feed.

NOTE 2: Limited media opportunities at a 4:30 p.m. photo session in the Empire Room and the 6:30 p.m. Awards Dinner (Black Tie Required) in the Grand Ballroom. Previous notification required to Phil Marwill to cover all events.

PHOTOS

For Media Only: The National Football Foundation has established a Web site to distribute photos taken by its photographers during the NFF Annual Awards Dinner and surrounding events on Dec. 9 in New York City. Photos will be provided at no cost for one-time use and for news purposes only with a proper photo credit to: "The National Football Foundation." All other rights will be reserved. High resolution photos will continuously be posted throughout the day. To obtain access and/or to be placed on the email list for alerts when particular photos are available, please contact NFF Photographer Gene Boyers

Dec. 9 Press Conference Coordinates(Waldorf-Astoria Empire Room, New York)
9:30-11:30 a.m. ESTG 16 Transponder 6 Slot ADownlink 11804 VSymbol 3.978723Data 5.5FEC 3/4

Dec. 9 Dinner Coordinates (Waldorf-Astoria Grand Ballroom, New York)
19:30-23:30 p.m. ESTG 16 Transponder 6 Slot ADownlink 11804 VSymbol 3.978723Data 5.5FEC 3/4

Note: The morning press conference will provide sound bites from each member of the 2008 College Football Hall of Fame Class, U.S. Senator John Glenn, and T. Boone Pickens. Time permitting several interviews with the NFF National Scholar-Athletes may occur during the morning feed. The dinner feed will feature all of the honorees accepting their awards.
The 2008 Hall of Fame Class: Troy Aikman (UCLA), Billy Cannon (LSU), Jim Dombrowski (Virginia), Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern), Wilber Marshall (Florida), Rueben Mayes (Washington State), Randall McDaniel (Arizona State), Don McPherson (Syracuse), Jay Novacek (Wyoming), Dave Parks (Texas Tech), Ron Simmons (Florida State), Thurman Thomas (Oklahoma State), Arnold Tucker (Army). Coaches: John Cooper and Lou Holtz.

The 2008 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class: (Football Bowl Subdivision) Chase Daniel (Missouri); Graham Harrell (Texas Tech); Quin Harris (Louisiana Tech); Jeff Horinek (Colorado State); Alex Mack (California); Ryan McDonald (Illinois); Darryl Richard (Georgia Tech); Brian Robiskie (Ohio State); and Louie Sakoda (Utah). Football Championship Subvision: Andrew Berry (Harvard); Ryan Berry (South Dakota State); and Casey Gerald (Yale). Division II: Ryan Kees (St. Cloud State, Minn.). Division III: Brian Freeman (Carnegie Mellon, Pa.); and Greg Micheli (Mount Union, Ohio).

The 2008 Major Award Winners: Former U.S. Senator John Glenn (Gold Medal Recipient); T. Boone Pickens (Distinguished American Award) ; Bill Battle (Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award); Gene Smith, Ohio State (John L. Toner Award); Thomas Robinson, long-time WAC/Mountain West official (Outstanding Football Official Award); and Bob Curtis of Idaho and posthumously Dick Galiette of Yale (Co-recipients of the Chris Schenkel Award).

ABOUT THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION & COLLEGE HALL OF FAME

Founded in 1947 with leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 121 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, Play It Smart, the NFF-FWAA Football Forum, the NFF Gridiron Clubs of New York City, Dallas and Los Angeles, and scholarships of over $1 million for college and high school scholar-athletes.

The NFF awards the MacArthur Trophy, the Draddy Trophy, presented by HealthSouth, and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings.

Learn more at www.footballfoundation.org

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Orange Bowl Stadium

Orange Bowl Stadium, 1501 N.W. 3rd Street, Miami, FL 33125

See also: http://www.orangebowlstadium.com/

Memorial Stadium

Memorial Stadium, Indiana University, 1001 East 17th Street, Bloomington, IN 47408

Liberty Bowl

Liberty Bowl Stadium, 335 South Hollywood Street, Memphis, TN 38104