Ever wondered why your favorite team never seems to play the same opponents every single year? Well the NFL and all its glory have actually made the scheduling somewhat fair in the world of sports.

An NFL season consists of four preseason games (practice games) and 16 regular season games. The regular season games are played at home eight times and at an away team’s stadium eight times.

The NFL also has games in London in which one of the two teams will lose a “home game” and be the “home opponent” in London.

Each team plays two in-conference rivalry games based on the prior year’s standings. For example, the first-place team in a division will play against the first-place team from another division within the same conference. The second place team in a division will play against the second-place team from another division within the same conference, etc.

• Each team plays home and away against its three division opponents, which accounts for six games on the schedule.
• Each team plays four teams from another division within its conference on a rotating three-year cycle, which accounts for four more games.
• Each team plays four teams from a division in the other conference on a rotating four-year cycle, which accounts for another four games.

HOW PLAYOFF SCHEDULING WORKS

• The season concludes with a 12-team tournament used to determine the teams will play in the Super Bowl.
• The tournament brackets are made up of six teams from each of the league’s two conferences, following the end of the 16-game regular season.
• Each of the four division winners is seeded 1–4 based on their W-L-T records (Win-Loss-Tie).
• The two wild card teams (labeled Wild Card 1 and 2) are seeded fifth and sixth (with the better of the two having seed 5) regardless of their records compared to the four division winners.

Below is a sample of how the divisional teams and wild card winners are seeded throughout the playoffs for each conference.

2022 UPDATED: HOW THE NFL CREATES THEIR SCHEDULE

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Special teams are unique in that they can serve as offensive or defensive units and that they are only seen sporadically throughout a game.

GUNNER:

The members of the special teams who specialize in racing downfield to tackle the kick or punt returner. The gunners usually line up on the outside of the offensive line and are often double teamed by blockers.

HOLDER:

The player who catches the snap from the center and places it down for the placekicker to attempt to kick it through the goal posts. On an attempted field goal, the holder must catch the ball and put it into a good kicking position, ideally with the laces facing away from the kicker.

KICK RETURNER:

A kick returner is the player who catches kickoffs and attempts to return them in the opposite direction. He is usually one of the faster players on the team, often a reserve wide receiver.

LONG SNAPPER:

The center position as it would be played on offense, but thisplayer specializes in making longer snaps for punts and field goal attempts. A longsnapper generally has to snap the ball 7–8 yards behind him for field goal attempts and 13–15 yards for punts with enough accuracy to allow the holder or punter to handle the ball cleanly.

PLACEKICKER:

The player who kicks the ball on kickoffs, extra point attempts, and field goal attempts. A placekicker either kicks the ball while it’s being held by a teammate or kicks it off a tee.

PUNTER:

The player who stands behind the line of scrimmage, catches the long snap from the center, and then kicks the ball after dropping it toward his foot. The punter generally comes in on fourth down to punt the ball to the other team with the idea of driving the other team as far back as possible before they take possession of the ball.

PUNT RETURNER:

The job of a punt returner is to catch the ball after it has been punted and run it back toward the punting team’s end zone.

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One of these unwritten rules is in regard to wearing pink to a game. Why you ask? It’s because before a word is spoken, female fans are automatically determined as inferior of sports knowledge simply because of your gender. You constantly have to prove your “fanhood knowledge” to the males and even diehard female sports fans every time you step into a stadium, walk into a sports bar or join a tailgating cookout. Unless it’s Breast Cancer Awareness month, you should always opt to wear your team colors over a gender-biased color.

As the NFL has learned that slapping pink on merchandise won’t cut it anymore, the good news is that the female fan population is rewarded with more and more options every single year to wear their team colors but with a style all their own.

STORES THAT SELL CUTE FOOTBALL CLOTHES

Multiple stores and e-commerce websites across the county have started popping up where college-aged women entrepreneurs saw a need for cute gameday clothing in their team colors. The designs range from flowy tops to scarves and some of the cutest gameday-practical dresses you will lay eyes on.

While most of these options are little pricy to purchase for every single game of the season, it certainly wouldn’t be out of the question to splurge on an outfit that marks a special occasion such as Homecoming, the Rivalry Game and Monday Night Football.

Another method is to go to stores that have your team’s color pallet. Stores like Forever 21 and Wet Seal are perfect places to pick up an affordable gameday out with your team’s colors that won’t break the bank.

TRY MAKING YOUR OWN CLOTHES

A more practical approach to putting your own stamp on gameday clothing is making your own attire.

Even though the more experienced seamstress would always recommend a sewing machine with carefully mastered patterns, most of us don’t want to spend a whole lot of money or time on a gameday outfit.

These days, there are many options at your local craft store to dress your own creations including iron-on seams that adhere to any fabric and glue that’s machine-washable. One of your best bets is to use those oversized (and cheap!) T-shirts and search GuysGirl for tutorials on the numerous ways to cut up the T-shirt that transforms it include new outfits like a sundress, tank top or strapless tank.

The post What to Wear To A Football Game appeared first on GuysGirl.

While we would have said just a couple years ago the wearing of heels at a football function is unacceptable, these days, more and more teams are having social gatherings at locations around town and even at the stadium itself creating another angle to gameday fashion.

But if you decide that it’d be a bright idea to wear heels to a tailgate and football game, you deserve to be left at home.

The post What to Wear: Game Day Shoes appeared first on GuysGirl.

Mascots:

Most teams in the NFL have an official mascot that runs around the field in costume causing trouble for the other team and entertaining fans in the stands. There are limitations as to what and how a mascot can “poke fun” at the opposing team. The NFL’s self-proclaimed “Greatest Mascot” for the past 14 years is Jacksonville Jaguars’ mascot, Jaxson De Ville. His antics have caused the NFL to implement rules pertaining to conduct on the field by all mascots that include on-field access and proximity to the opposing players. The only teams that don’t have a mascot are the N.Y. Giants, N.Y. Jets, Green Bay Packers, Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams. The reason teams don’t have a mascot usually has to do with team tradition of “not needing sideline antics getting in the way of a football game.”

Cheerleaders:

In 1954, the Baltimore Colts (who are now in Indianapolis) formed the first cheerleading squad. NFL cheerleaders are officially qualified as “part-time jobs,” but every cheerleader is required to hold another job or attend college in addition to a part-time job that requires a substantial commitment of time for practice, camp, games, appearances, photo shoots and charity events.

Apart from their main duties of cheering during the football games, the cheerleaders have many other responsibilities. Nearly every team member is available for appearances at schools, events, conferences, etc., for a set fee. An anticipated annual event is the release of each squad’s calendar, featuring members for each month in swimsuits, lingerie or uniforms. As well as being a mainstay of American football culture, the cheerleaders are one of the biggest entertainment groups to regularly perform for the U.S. Military overseas.

The Logistics of NFL Game Day

And finally, here’s a fun video on what goes into the logistics of an NFL game day:

The post NFL Live Game Entertainment appeared first on GuysGirl.

Since 1986, the game has developed into a staple in the industry, generated billions of dollars in revenue and created so much excitement that the release day for the game is dubbed “Madden Holiday” in which enthusiasts schedule days off from work in celebration of their favorite holiday.

NFL players also look forward to the game when their “player ratings” are revealed. The player ratings are probably the most extensive part of the game in which all positions and all stats are calculated and a final rating or score is given. Most players who do not get a satisfactory score (usually 80 and above) obviously doubt the validity of the rating but there has to be something said when a video game has predicted the Super Bowl winner a majority of the time since the simulations began. Not bad for “just a video game.” But with much accolade comes one negative aspect about the franchise and that is the famous Madden Curse.

“Madden Holiday is here
and we will play all night.
Call in sick and sound sincere
and tackles will be light.
The fridge is packed with drink and meat,
the taste of victory sure is sweet
Come my friends on this launch day,
hailmary’s we will throw.”

(poem from faniq.com)

The post The History of John Madden’s Gaming Empire appeared first on GuysGirl.

College football rivalries are awesome, plain and simple.

Whether state bragging rights or iconic trophies are on the line, the games are always intense, and the fans and players are jazzed up.

The rivalry games have colorful nicknames, and some sort of interesting trophy is usually the prize.

Often, the rivalry is between two schools in the same state, and the whole state takes sides.

Auburn and Alabama square off in the Iron Bowl. Washington and Washington State play in the Apple Cup. Colorado and Colorado State kick off the season in the Rocky Mountain Showdown. Stanford and Cal duke it out in the Big Game. Utah and BYU face off in the often-heated Holy War. Oregon and Oregon State have the Civil War.

Sometimes the schools are in neighboring states like Colorado State and Wyoming or Michigan and Ohio State.

Kansas and Missouri have one of the most acrimonious rivalries known as the Border War, which dates back to the 1850s when slavery and anti-slavery supporters shed blood while fighting over whether Kansas would be a free or slave state.

The NFL just doesn’t have history like that.

The trophies that are awarded to the winner are a huge part of what makes college football special.

The winner of the Colorado State-Wyoming game gets the Bronze Boot. The Boot is an actual boot that was worn in Vietnam by a CSU ROTC instructor and is guarded by the ROTC unit of the school that won the previous year’s game.

The winner of the annual USC-Notre Dame game is awarded the Jeweled Shillelagh while Indiana and Purdue fight over the Old Oaken Bucket. TCU and SMU play for the Iron Skillet.

Minnesota plays teams for a number of odd trophies: the Floyd of Rosedale trophy that is shaped like a pig (Iowa); Paul Bunyan’s Axe (Wisconsin); and the Little Brown Jug (Michigan).

The NFL is the highest quality football on the planet, but when it comes to the actual football experience, there’s just no competing with college football.

The post The Rivalries in College Football vs. NFL appeared first on GuysGirl.

The NFL is a copycat league, and coaches are hesitant to think outside-the-box and risk getting fired. When they do try something “new,” they generally steal it from the college ranks. The Dolphins took the NFL by storm when they unleashed the Wildcat. The coach who instituted it learned it while on the Arkansas coaching staff.

The spread offense Tom Brady uses to put up massive numbers every year? It’s based on college schemes.

The fact is, if you want variety, the college game is where to look. In the NFL, defenses either play a 4-3 or a 3-4.

TCU routinely fields one of the top defenses in college football with a unique 4-2-5 scheme.

New Mexico and West Virginia use a 3-3-5 alignment.

The offenses are even more diverse.

Hawai’i and SMU run the Run’n’Shoot. Navy and Georgia Tech utilize the triple option while Air Force uses a hybrid offense that is primarily the triple option, but has elements of everything.

Oregon uses a powerful rushing attack that goes as fast as possible and leaves opponents gasping for breath. Wisconsin bludgeons opponents with a powerful, traditional run game.

The post The Variety of Plays in College Football vs NFL appeared first on GuysGirl.

The Florida-Georgia game is referred to as the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party and for good reason. Fans line up days before the big game to be able to fit their camper into what’s known as RV City. Inside RV City is a mess of fandom, stripper poles, jello shots, tricked out golf carts and pressurized beer funnels.

Tennessee fans arrive by the boatload, literally, and form the “Volunteer Navy” to fill up the Tennessee River and tailgate before Volunteer games. Washington fans up the ante by tailgating on Lake Washington.

Ole Miss fans live by the creed “We might not always win the game, but we will always win the party!”

The Grove is one of the most well-known tailgate venues in the country. LSU fans bring Cajun cookin’ to the table, literally.

Nebraska fans have the reputation of being the nicest and most polite fans in the land. Penn State fans create a tent city in the week leading up to the game.

NFL tailgating is fine and dandy, but it’s not at the same level. Since college games are mostly played on Saturdays — and usually during the day — people can get a little crazier because they have more time to recover.

Plus, it’s college.

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Most schools have a marching band that attends the games. Not only does the band generally perform intricate set pieces before games and at halftime, it also plays during the games, providing the soundtrack for various cheers.

The bands at Stanford and Wisconsin are particularly known for their antics — not always in a good way — while the Ohio University, Jackson State, Southern, and Florida A&M bands are regarded as among the best in the land.

Arguably the most well-known band feature related to college football is “Script Ohio” where the Ohio State University marching band spells out Ohio before a sousaphone player dots the “i.” In comparison, a few NFL teams may have a drum section, but they lack full marching bands.

Both the NFL and college have cheerleaders, but they are quite different. College cheerleaders are actual cheerleaders; they perform stunts and tumbling and wear cheerleading outfits. NFL cheerleading squads are more like dance teams.

They perform dance routines instead of stunts, and they don’t wear the standard skirt and top. Plus, they don’t lead the crowd in cheers like college cheerleaders do.

College cheer squads are also usually co-ed while only a handful of NFL teams boast male members. Most colleges also have a dance team.

NFL teams generally take the field to some sort of video montage and pump-up music. College teams are a little more varied. Purdue has the World’s Largest Drum. Georgia Tech is lead onto the field by a 1930 Ford Model A car called the Ramblin’ Wreck. Oklahoma has the Sooner Schooner, a horse-drawn covered wagon. Another tradition unique to college is hand gestures. Florida State has the Tomahawk Chop. Rival Florida does the Gator Chomp.

Texas fans are proud to flash the Hook ‘Em Horns sign. TCU fans have the Horned Frog sign.

Texas Tech fans do “Guns Up.” Arizona State fans make a trident. Houston fans make the same sign, only it’s a cougar paw.

The post The Pageantry in College Football vs. NFL appeared first on GuysGirl.

The Denver Broncos have a live horse named Thunder that is ridden around the field after scores, but live-animal mascots are the exception rather than the rule.

For the most part, NFL fans are generally ambivalent toward their mascots.

College fans, on the other hand, adore their mascots. Colorado Buffaloes fans go nuts when Ralphie stampedes down the field before the start of each half. Bevo is a Texas icon. Dogs are especially beloved: Georgia’s Uga (bulldog), Tennessee’s Smokey (bluetick coonhound), Texas A&M’s Reveille (collie), and Washington’s Dubs (Alaskan Malamute) are just a few of the more wellknown examples.

Aggies fans even constructed a special scoreboard outside Kyle Field so that deceased mascots could still follow the game since the view of the in-stadium scoreboard was blocked by a renovation.

As you may have gathered, many schools have live animal mascots. LSU has an actual tiger while Baylor keeps two black bears.

Colorado State has Cam the Ram, and the Air Force Academy has a trained falcon that performs during games.

Speaking of eagles, I’d be remiss if I failed to mention Auburn’s War Eagle. At USC games, a man in Trojan garb rides a white horse onto the field. The soldier isn’t the school’s official mascot, however. That distinction belongs to the horse, Traveler.

Not to be outdone by their animal brethren, costumed mascots are also popular. The Stanford Tree is probably the oddest mascot in the history of sports with Western Kentucky’s Big Red a close second.

If you want to know just how passionate college fans are about their mascots, just look at the University of North Dakota. The state has been embroiled in a dispute for years over the school’s Fighting Sioux nickname after the NCAA banned teams with names offensive to Native Americans from hosting postseason tournaments or using the name and logo in postseason play.

The state legislature even passed a law prohibiting the school from changing its name.

These are just a few of the many college football mascots that exist in the game today.

The post The Mascots in College Football vs. NFL appeared first on GuysGirl.

There are hundreds of schools playing college football, from Division I to NAIA, and all have their own unique quirks and traditions.

Every school has a fight song, and the team’s fans know it by heart. It’s almost always sung after every score. Some of the most famous include Michigan’s “The Victors,” USC’s “Fight On!,” the Naval Academy’s “Anchors Aweigh,” Texas A&M’s “Aggie War Hymn” and Notre Dame’s “Victory March.” In contrast, very few NFL teams have a fight song — the Eagles are one — and they are generally not well-known or important.

Songs just don’t mean fight songs, either. Many schools have traditions involving singing other songs, such as West Virginia singing “Take Me Home, Country Roads” before every game and after victories and Texas fans belting out “The Eyes of Texas.” Ohio State players and fans sing the first verse of “Carmen Ohio” after every home game. Alabama fans have “Rammer Jammer.”

College football is rife with other storied and treasured traditions besides songs.

Student volunteers at Notre Dame apply a fresh coat of paint to the school’s signature golden helmets every Monday before a game, and the paint contains flecks of real gold.

The Irish slap their famous “Play Like A Champion Today” sign before heading out onto the field.

Nebraska’s defense is known as the Blackshirts. Mississippi State fans demolish your hearing with cowbells. Wisconsin fans give civil engineers a heart attack when they start screaming and jumping in unison to “Jump Around,” causing the upper portion of Camp Randall Stadium to sway.

Cal’s student section is famed for the sign displays they make for games. The annual Army-Navy game features the Cadet March, in which each academy’s cadets march out in formation to be presented before taking their respective seats.

Clemson players touch “Howard’s Rock” before running down a hill to enter the stadium.

Auburn started a tradition since copied by many schools in which fans line the paths leading up to the stadium and cheer on the players as they arrive at the field a few hours before the game.

Before every home game at Florida State, the school’s mascot, Chief Osceola, rides an Appaloosa horse named Renegade to midfield before thrusting a flaming spear into the grass.

The Colorado State University marching band’s trombone section engages in the “Trombone Suicides” before each half.

Texas A&M fans have made up the 12th Man since the 1920s and show up at midnight the night before a game for the Midnight Yell where students are led through a number of cheers and the fight song.

As you can see, tradition in college football takes precedence and much more importance is placed on the value of it within the sport. Tradition will always be a very important cultural part of the college football game that could never be replicated in the NFL.

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But to make it easier on you, we assembled the major rule differences between the college and pro game for your convenience.

THE PLAYING FIELD

The field dimensions are the same – 100 yards long by 53 1/3 yards wide – but the placement of the hash-marks – those white dashes in the middle of the field – are different.

On an NFL field, the hashes are much closer together; they are aligned with the uprights of the goal posts. The college game sets them much wider apart. This may not seem like a big deal, but it actually does affect the game.

After each play, the ball is spotted on one of the hashes or in the middle of the field, depending on where the previous play ended.

For example, if a ball carrier is pushed out-of-bounds on the right sideline, then the ball will be spotted on the corresponding hash mark on the right side of the field.

For a college team, that means they have a very wide expanse of field to use on one side and a rather narrow area in which to operate on the other. It also has a huge impact on field goals since the wider hash produces much greater angles for the college kickers to deal with than those faced by NFL kickers.

GOALPOSTS

Speaking of kickers and goalposts, the college game uses wider goalposts than the NFL. NCAA goalposts are 23’ 4” apart compared to 18’ 4” in the NFL. The wider goalposts in college help offset the greater angles caused by the wider hash marks.

HOW PLAYERS ARE RULED DOWN

Perhaps the most glaring difference between the college and pro games is how players are ruled “down.”

In the NFL, a player is down when he is either on the ground and touched by an opposing player or goes to the ground as a  result of contact with an opposing player.

In college, a player is down whenever a part of his body other than his feet or hands touches the ground, regardless of whether or not he was touched by an opposing player.

What that means is that if an NFL player falls to the ground without being touched – say after making a diving catch or losing his footing – he can get back up and keep running because the play is still live. In college, he is ruled down.

There are some exceptions: in college, the holder on a field goal try is not considered down when he receives the snap even though his knee is on the ground. In the NFL, a quarterback is considered down when he kneels after taking a snap in order to run out the clock.

Also, a kick returner can kneel in the end zone for a touchback, causing the play to be blown dead.

NUMBER OF FEET INBOUNDS FOR A CATCH

Another big difference between the two versions is the number of feet required to be inbounds for a receiver to make a legal catch.

In the NFL, a receiver must get both feet down inbounds with control of the ball for it to be considered a catch. The college game only requires one foot.

PASS INTERFERENCE

Speaking of receivers, the college game differs from the NFL in the penalty it assesses for pass interference.

In the NFL, pass interference is a spot foul; the ball is spotted where the interference occurred. In college, however, it is a 15-yard penalty.

For instance, let’s say the offense has the ball at its own 30-yard line, and the quarterback throws the ball deep. The defender commits pass interference at his own 20-yard line.

In the NFL, the ball is placed at the 20, resulting in a 50-yard gain for the offense.

Under the NCAA rules, the ball would be placed at the offense’s 45, a gain of only 15 yards.

CLOCK RULES

Both the NCAA and NFL use different clock rules. The NCAA stops the clock whenever a first down is achieved so that the chains can be reset. Once they are in place, the clock resumes. In the pro game, the clock keeps running.

That has huge implications at the end of games when time is short.

A college team can afford to throw the ball over the middle of the field because the clock will briefly stop.

A pro team doesn’t have that luxury because the clock keeps running.

On the flip side, the NFL does have the two-minute warning whereas college football does not. The two-minute warning is, well, a warning that there are only two minutes left in the half. In essence, it’s a free timeout for both teams. The clock is stopped.

TWO-POINT CONVERSION

The NFL and NCAA both give their teams the option of going for 2 after scoring a touchdown, but the former places the ball at the 2-yard line while the latter spots it at the 3-yard line.

OVERTIME

In the NFL, all regular season games that are tied at the end of regulation are decided by a modified sudden-death overtime period.

Basically, they play another quarter, and the first team to score wins, with one caveat: both teams get a possession unless the team receiving the opening kickoff (there’s a coin toss before the start of the overtime period to decide who receives) scores a touchdown on its opening drive.

If they kick a field goal, the other team still gets a possession. If the receiving team doesn’t score, or kicks a field goal but the other team matches it, the game reverts back to the regular sudden-death format in which the first team to score wins. If the game is tied after 15 minutes, the game is over and ruled a tie. College football uses a much different format.

Like the NFL, it starts with a coin toss, but instead of determining who is kicking, the winner decides whether to play offense or defense first.

See, college football’s overtime isn’t sudden-death. It’s more like baseball innings. There is no clock — although the play clock still runs — and each team gets the ball.

The way it works is that one team starts with the ball on the 25-yard line and tries to score. Normal rules apply (first downs, penalties, etc.). Once they are done, the roles are reversed, and the other team gets a crack at playing offense. If the score is tied after both teams have the ball, the game continues into a second overtime. If the game is still tied after two overtimes, then the teams will be forced to attempt 2-point conversions any time they score a touchdown.

INSTANT REPLAY

The NFL uses a challenge system in which each coach has to throw a flag onto the field to challenge a play. There are limitations to which plays can be challenged; for instance, a coach can’t challenge a pass interference play. Each coach gets two challenges per game, and if they get them both right, they get a third.

Each challenge costs a timeout, but if the challenge is correct, that team gets the timeout back. Coaches cannot challenge calls within the last two minutes of a half as replay reviews are decided by replay officials in a booth.

Also, all scoring plays are automatically reviewed, and starting this year, all turnovers are reviewed as well.

College football doesn’t have a standardized replay system in place. That is left up to the individual conferences. For non-conference games, the home team’s conference rules are used.

REGULAR SEASON

The NFL plays a 16-game season over 17 weeks, not including postseason or preseason play.

The NCAA generally plays a 12-game season, unless a team is eligible for the “Hawai’i Exemption.” No, it’s not a Robert Ludlum novel.

The exemption allows a team that has to play at Hawai’i to play an extra game, resulting in a 13-game season instead of a normal 12-game season. The extra game is used to offset the travel costs associated with flying out to our nation’s most remote state.

Under the rule, Hawai’i also gets an extra game because of the travel costs associated with playing all of its away games on the mainland. The rule also applies to schools in Alaska and Puerto Rico, but neither has a Division I football team.

College football also has conference championship games for those conferences of at least 12 teams.

The SEC, for example, is split into the SEC East and SEC West divisions, and the division winners meet in the SEC Championship Game to determine the conference champion and recipient of the conference’s automatic bid to the Sugar Bowl. Not every conference has a championship game, however.

This all means that college football teams won’t finish with the same number of games played.

In 2011, Georgia finished at 10-4 while fellow SEC member South Carolina was 11-2. Both played a 12-game schedule, but  Georgia played in the SEC championship game and a bowl game while South Carolina only played in a bowl game. Colorado State went 3-9 while Colorado was 3-10 because the Buffs played at Hawai’i.

POSTSEASON

College football and the NFL use vastly different postseason formats. The 32-team NFL is split up into two conferences, each with four divisions. A 12-team playoff is used, with each conference having six playoff spots.

Each division winner receives a playoff berth, and the top two remaining teams in each conference earn wild card spots. The top two overall seeds earn byes in the first round, and the conference champions meet in the Super Bowl.

NCAA Division I football currently has over 120 teams in 11 conferences and uses a convoluted system known as the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) to determine a champion.

The BCS uses a number of human polls and computer rankings to determine the No. 1 and No. 2 team in the country and matches them up in the BCS National Championship Game.

There are no playoffs, although many conferences are large enough to form two divisions and stage a conference championship game. The system is flawed and controversial because many  years there aren’t just two-clear cut top teams.

In 2004, there were four undefeated teams in the country, yet Auburn and Utah weren’t able to play for a national title. Boise State, Hawai’i, and Cincinnati have all been undefeated yet left out of title consideration — Boise State on multiple occasions.

Most years have resulted in a number of one-loss teams all vying for one of the title game spots, and trying to sort out which team is most-deserving is a painful task that leaves many fans unsatisfied.

Teams that don’t make this game still get to participate in postseason play in the form of bowl games. There were 34 bowl games in 2012, not counting the title game, of which the four BCS Bowls (Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, and Orange) are the most prestigious.

In order to be bowl-eligible, a team must have at least six wins, and only one of those wins may come against a lower-division team. If a team has beaten two lower-division teams, then they need at least seven wins. Teams with losing records cannot qualify for a bowl unless they receive an automatic berth. North Texas earned a berth in the 2001 New Orleans Bowl despite a losing record of 5-6 because they were the Sun Belt Conference champions.

Earlier this year, Division I presidents and conference commissioners approved a four-team playoff to decide the national champion starting in 2014.

Details are still being worked out, but a selection committee similar to the one used to select the teams for the NCAA basketball tournament will decide which four teams will play.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally created and published in 2013

The post Things that Make College Football Different from the NFL appeared first on GuysGirl.

Ever wondered why your favorite team never seems to play the same opponents every single year? Well the NFL and all its glory have actually made the scheduling somewhat fair in the world of sports.

An NFL season consists of four preseason games (practice games) and 16 regular season games. The regular season games are played at home eight times and at an away team’s stadium eight times.

The NFL also has games in London in which one of the two teams will lose a “home game” and be the “home opponent” in London.

Each team plays two in-conference rivalry games based on the prior year’s standings. For example, the first-place team in a division will play against the first-place team from another division within the same conference. The second place team in a division will play against the second-place team from another division within the same conference, etc.

• Each team plays home and away against its three division opponents, which accounts for six games on the schedule.
• Each team plays four teams from another division within its conference on a rotating three-year cycle, which accounts for four more games.
• Each team plays four teams from a division in the other conference on a rotating four-year cycle, which accounts for another four games.

HOW PLAYOFF SCHEDULING WORKS

• The season concludes with a 12-team tournament used to determine the teams will play in the Super Bowl.
• The tournament brackets are made up of six teams from each of the league’s two conferences, following the end of the 16-game regular season.
• Each of the four division winners is seeded 1–4 based on their W-L-T records (Win-Loss-Tie).
• The two wild card teams (labeled Wild Card 1 and 2) are seeded fifth and sixth (with the better of the two having seed 5) regardless of their records compared to the four division winners.

Below is a sample of how the divisional teams and wild card winners are seeded throughout the playoffs for each conference.

UPDATE: With the NFL adding an additional week to their regular season schedule and adjusting the preseason slate of games too, here is an updated breakdown on how the NFL creates its schedule each year:

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THE COMPONENTS OF A SCOREBOARD INCLUDE:

• Large Video Board: This is the board you watch for close plays, potential penalties, any type of score and even fan shots during the game. If a play is under review, chances are the team will show the play in question over and over again on the scoreboard so fans can for themselves whether the call will stand or be overturned.

• General Scoreboard Information: Team names are always on a scoreboard, but the numbers just below the team names will always change. The numbers usually directly below the team name indicate the score of the game; the smaller numbers just to the right are how many timeouts each team has left.

• Downs: this number shows what down the offense is currently on. A down is one of four chances a team on offense has to gain 10 yards.

• To Go: This number is the numberof yards the offense has to go until they earn another first down. If they do not gain the yards needed after three attempts, they can choose to kick the ball away—this is called punting—or go for it on fourth down. If they fail on their final try, the other team takes over possession “on downs.”

• Ball On: Shows what yardline the ball is on. A football field is 100 yards long and this number can help you calculate how far your team has to go to score.

• Game Clock: The larger time clock counts down the quarter. There are four 15-minute quarters and one 15-minute halftime show in football and this clock will countdown each one.

• Play Clock: The smaller clock is the play clock. When a team is on offense (trying to score), the quarterback has 40 seconds on every play to snap the ball (to snap means to start the action of taking the ball and attempting a run play or pass play). The play clock is started as soon as the ref sets the ball down. This play clock can become a very strategic tool at the end of the 1st half (right before halftime) and at the end of games. Teams with a large lead will normally try to take their time snapping the ball to try and run as much time off the clock as possible, giving the other team less time to score.

IF YOU‘RE WATCHING THE GAME AT HOME

Though NFL games shown on TV load their screens up with all kinds of pictures, stats, and yellow lines, the information shown the most is the same displayed on an NFL scoreboard. Usually look for a bottom bar or small box off to the side on an NFL game broadcast to view the same information noted above.

One thing you will see while at home is the yellow line on the field. This line is the virtual first down line. The yellow line is not visible to the players on the field, but is superimposed by the network channel you are watching. If the offense reaches this yellow line, they’ve earned a first down.

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The chain crew is made up of 3–4 and operates what is called the “chains.” The “chains” are the tools to indicate where the ball is spotted, and the distance the offense has to achieve for a first down.

The chains are made of two metal rods which are connected by a metal chain (rather thin) that’s 10 yards in length. The top of the rods are usually orange in color. One stick is placed at the original spot of the ball and the other is extended until the chain is tight.

A clip is attached to the chain where the first yard line is perpendicular to the chain to ensure on-field measurements are accurate. There is a third metal stick and at the top of the stick is a rectangular box. This box shows numbers which indicate the down the offense is currently on.

Often you will see the chain crew leave their designated area on the sideline and come out on to the field for a measurement. This means the ball’s spot is very close to the first down but it is too difficult to make a judgment with the first down marker being 30–50 yards away. After this is determined “Third and Inches” is usually stated instead of “Third and One.”

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THE STANDARD REFEREE CREW CONSISTS OF:

• Referee: The referee is the head official and is the one wearing the white hat. The referee’s primary responsibility is to watch the quarterback and the action in the offensive backfield. He also signals the fouls and penalties to the teams and crowds.

• Umpire: The most dangerous out of all the officiating jobs is the umpire job. The umpire is in charge of the legality of player’s equipment, assists on the ruling of incomplete passes and also looks for holding or illegal blocks committed by the offense.

• Head linesman: The head linesman looks for penalties before the snap (offsides, encroachment, etc.), marks the forwardprogress of the ball and supervises the “chain gang” (the crew operating the down indicator chains and down box).

• Line judge: The line judge assists the head linesman at the other end of the line of scrimmage, responsible for counting offensive players, checking if a player steps out of bounds, looking for possible offsides, encroachment and other fouls before the snap.

• Field judge: The field judge makes the call if field goals are successful or not along with the back judge. He makes decisions near the sideline on his side of field, judging the action of nearby running backs, receivers and defenders. He rules on pass interference, illegal blocks downfield, and incomplete passes and is also responsible for counting defensive players.

• Side judge: Like the field judge, he makes decisions near the sideline on his side of field, judging the action of nearby running backs, receivers and defenders. He rules on pass interference, illegal blocks downfield, and incomplete passes and also counts defensive players.

• Back judge: Along with the field judge, the back judge helps in the decision of whether a field goal is good or not. He stands behind the defensive secondary in the middle of the field, judging the action of nearby running backs, receivers (most often the tight ends) and nearby defenders. He is also responsible for ruling a “delay of game” penalty if the play clock expires, has final say regarding the legality of kickoffs and rules on pass interference, illegal blocks downfield, and incomplete passes.

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Standing in the middle of the pitch keeping control of multimillionaire sportsmen, keeping your composure and getting the important decisions right is increasingly important. Referees get abuse from fans, players and coaches which makes their job an unenviable task. Worst of all for referees, every game is on the road.

With HD TVs becoming the standard in every fan’s home creates the ability to watch instant replays easy to criticize every split-second decision a referee makes live on the field.

Referees play a very important role and it takes a very special type of person to do it. They have to make important decisions instantly even if it means upsetting thousands of fans. It’s because of this, along with the potential problem of sports gam-blers, that the crew of NFL refs is shuttled with a security group to and from games.

Referees go through a stringent grading process every single game. A referee is sent by the league to sit in the press box and is responsible for noting when a ref got a call right, wrong or just plain didn’t see a penalty.

Referees with good grades are rewarded the opportunity to call postseason games up to the Super Bowl, making bonuses for every postseason game they officiate. In other words, it’s financially in their best interest to call the game as best as they can.

All crews in the NFL are currently all male, but female refs have been climbing the rankings in college for quite some time. It’s widely believed that the first female ref could show up as soon as this season.

A little-known fact about NFL referees is that despite the boos from fans and media, they actually get the calls right 97 percent of the time.

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One of his most memorable teachings is the famous “What it Takes to Be Number One” – one of the many motivational speeches that Lombardi was famous for, even including “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.”

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE NUMBER ONE

“Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an allthe time thing. You don’t win once in a while; you don’t do things right once in a while; you do them right all of the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.
There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that’s first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don’t ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in  anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.

Every time a football player goes to play his trade he’s got to play from the ground up – from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That’s O.K. You’ve got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you’ve got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you’re lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he’s never going to come off the field second.

Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization – an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win – to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don’t think it is.

It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That’s why they are there – to compete. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules – but to win.
And in truth, I’ve never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn’t appreciate the grind, the discipline.There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.

I don’t say these things because I believe in the ‘brute’ nature of men or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour – his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear – is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.”

– Coach Vincent T. Lombardi

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That’s where the head coach steps in. NFL coaches mold their team’s personality and implement the schemes necessary for their personnel to be successful. They are part CEO, part field commander, and part psychologist, but ultimately, they are credited or blamed for their team’s success.

Over the course of the NFL’s storied history, there have been a plethora of coaches who were successful, but the following 20 stand out through time amongst their peers. As with any list, there will always be snubs and controversy, but nobody can deny that the gentlemen on this list were, or are, exceptional

1. DON SHULA

   Holder of the all-time wins record, Don Shula is also the only coach to ever guide his team to an undefeated season culminating in a Super Bowl championship. Over a 33-year coaching career, Shula reached the playoffs a record 19 times and had only two seasons with a sub-.500 record. His teams reached the Super Bowl a record six times, winning in back-to-back fashion in 1972 and 1973.

2. VINCE LOMBARDI

   Even if someone is not a football fan, chances are they have heard of Vince Lombardi. His greatness goes beyond the football field—ever heard the saying, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing?” But his performance on it was legendary. In nine seasons as coach of the Green Bay Packers, Lombardi won the NFL title five times. In 15 years as a head coach or assistant, Lombardi never had a losing season, and the trophy that is awarded to the Super Bowl champion every year bears his name. When he retired, Lombardi owned the second-highest career winning percentage in history—he is now No. 3 in that category—and he still owns the highest career playoff winning percentage (.900).

3. GEORGE HALAS

   His name may not be as prominent today, but George Halas’ fingerprints are all over the history of the NFL. Halas moved the Decatur Staleys to Chicago in 1921 and changed the team’s name to the Bears as a tribute to the Chicago Cubs. He gained full control of the franchise in 1932 and coached the Bears on and off for 40 seasons, most in NFL history. Halas finished coaching in 1967, and his 324 career wins stood as the most all-time for 27 years until Don Shula broke it. He had as many championships as losing seasons (six), but more importantly, he helped form and guide the NFL as owner of the Bears. In 1984, the NFL named the NFC Championship trophy after Halas.

4. PAUL BROWN

   You know you’re a legend when a team names their stadium after you, and Paul Brown certainly fits the bill. One of the legendary coaches in NFL history, Brown not only established a dynasty in Cleveland, he also helped desegregate professional football by signing and playing African-American players Bill Willis and Marion Motley. His Browns teams rampaged through whatever league they played in, winning four straight AAFC titles before joining the NFL in 1950. Cleveland went on to win the title in its inaugural NFL season and ended up playing for the crown seven times in its first eight seasons in the NFL. All told, Brown won seven championships between the AAFC and NFL and only hadone losing season in 17 years of coaching the Browns. When the Bengals were established in Cincinnati, Brown came on board and had the franchise in the playoffs in just three seasons. The Bengals’ current stadium is named after Paul Brown.

5. BILL WALSH

   One of the greatest offensive minds in football history, Bill Walsh is largely credited with creating the West Coast offense. His 49ers teams in the 1980s were among the greatest ever, featuring standouts such as Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. Walsh’s teams won three Super Bowl titles, and the year after he retired, Steve Young led San Francisco to yet another Super Bowl title. Numerous Walsh assistants went on to become successful NFL head coaches, including Mike Shanahan, Mike Holmgren, Jon Gruden and Brian Billick.

6. CHUCK NOLL

   In his 23 years at the helm, Chuck Noll turned the Pittsburgh Steelers into one of the NFL’s most successful and iconic franchise. He created a dynasty in the 1970s, winning four Super Bowls in six years behind the famed “Steel Curtain” defense that produced multiple Hall of Famers. Noll is the only coach in history to win four Super Bowls.

7. TOM LANDRY

   Tom Landry was the first coach of the Dallas Cowboys and retained the position for 29 years. Under his watch, the Cowboys played in five Super Bowls, winning two. Dallas had 20 straight winning seasons that included 18 playoff berths and 13 division titles. Landry’s 20 playoff wins are the most in history, and he ranks third in career victories, behind only Don Shula and George Halas. He is also credited with a number of innovations, such as introducing the flex defense and multiple offense in the 1960s, revamping the shotgun offense in the ‘70s, and creating the concept of situational substitutions in the 1980s.

8. CURLY LAMBEAU

   The Green Bay Packers are one of the most revered franchises in the NFL, and that is due in great part to Curly Lambeau. Not only is their legendary stadium named after him, but he helped found the team and is responsible for the team’s name (he worked for a meat-packing company and convinced his employers to pay for jerseys). Lambeau won six NFL titles—a record matched only by George Halas—and suffered only one losing season in his first 27 years as a head coach. He is fourth on the career wins list and is responsible for many things we take for granted today in the modern NFL. He was the first coach to make use of the forward pass as an offensive weapon and instituted things like pass patterns and daily practices.

9. BILL BELICHICK

   Certainly the most curmudgeonly man on this list, Bill Belichick is undoubtedly the greatest coach of the current generation. He routinely gets stellar performances out of players who have been cast off by other teams, and he turned a back-up quarterback from Michigan who was drafted in the sixth round into arguably the greatest quarterback of all time. Belichick became the first coach to win at least 10 games in 10 straight seasons and the first to win three Super Bowls in four years. His 2007 team ran roughshod through the NFL, posting only the second undefeated regular season in history (and the first to go 16-0) before losing in the Super Bowl to finish an unprecedented 18-1. He has led the Patriots to five Super Bowls, losing twice to the Giants. Belichick is currently ninth on the all-time wins list and needs only three more playoff wins to set the career playoff victory record. He was also the defensive coordinator on both of Bill Parcells’ titlewinning teams in New York and was an assistant head coach on Parcells’ New England team that lost Super Bowl XXXI.

10. BILL PARCELLS

    Nobody has Bill Parcells’ track record of success with multiple franchises. Unlike many of the other coaches on this list, Parcells achieved success with several teams. He was a turnaround artist with a knack for taking struggling teams and turning them into contenders. Over his 19-year career, Parcells won two Super Bowls with the Giants, lost one with the Patriots, and took the Jets to the 1998 AFC Championship Game. He went to the playoffs 10 times and only had five sub-.500 seasons. Every team he took over had won fewer than six games the previous year, yet he had them in the playoffs by his second season at the helm. His greatest masterpiece was the Jets, who had gone 1-15 the year before he was hired. Under Parcells, the Jets went 12-4 in his second season and made it all the way to the AFC title game before falling to Mike Shanahan’s Broncos. His second Super Bowl team with the Giants upset the heavily-favored Buffalo Bills in one of the greatest Super Bowl coaching performances in history.

11. JOE GIBBS

    Joe Gibbs was the foundation for the Washington Redskins run of success in the 1980s, leading the team to four Super Bowl appearances and winning three, all with different quarterbacks. No other coach has won three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks. During a 12-year span, his teams reached the playoffs eight times, and their worst season was a 7-9 campaign. After taking a hiatus to focus on his NASCAR racing team and earning a spot in the NFL Hall of Fame, Gibbs returned to Washington in 2004 and coached for four more seasons, leading the team to the playoffs twice. He is the winningest coach in Washington history, and his .708 postseason winning percentage is the highest among coaches with at least 10 postseason appearances.

12. JIMMY JOHNSON

    A multitude of coaches have made the jump from the college ranks to the NFL, but few have enjoyed success. None have enjoyed the success that Jimmy Johnson did, becoming the first coach to ever win both an NCAA championship and a Super Bowl. What’s even more remarkable are the circumstances Johnson faced. After winning an NCAA title with Miami and leading the Hurricanes to two No. 2 national finishes, Johnson was hired by the Cowboys to replace the legendary Tom Landry, the only coach the Cowboys had ever known. Johnson’s first season was a disaster as the team finished 1-15, but he had the Cowboys in the playoffs in his third year at the helm. The Cowboys won backto-back Super Bowls in 1992 and 1993 under Johnson, and the core that he built went on to win another two years later. Johnson left Dallas after winning his second Super Bowl but came out of retirement to take over the Miami Dolphins after Don Shula retired. In four years, Johnson took the Dolphins to the playoffs three times.

13. TOM COUGHLIN

    Tom Coughlin has proven himself to be one of the best biggame coaches ever, with two Super Bowl upsets to prove it. His head coaching career began when he took over the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars. He led Jacksonville to the AFC Championship Game in 1996, just the franchise’s second year of existence, after upsetting the heavily-favored Denver Broncos. He also took the Jaguars to the conference title game in 1999. His greatest successes have come with the New York Giants, however, as he has twice led the Giants to upset victories over the New England Patriots after fighting to claim a Wild Card berth into the playoffs. His first championship team was a massive underdog against the previously unbeaten Patriots while his second championship team made the playoffs with a 9-7 record and set a record for having the worst regular-season winning percentage of any Super Bowl victor. He is still currently the coach of the Giants.

14. MIKE SHANAHAN

    Known in Denver as “The Mastermind,” Mike Shanahan finally led John Elway and the Denver Broncos to the Promised Land, winning back-to-back Super Bowl titles in ’97 and ’98. He was just the fifth coach in NFL history to win consecutive Super Bowls. Shanahan’s offenses were regularly among the best in the league and became known for seemingly able to have anyone run for 1,000 yards. Shanahan won 62 percent of his regular season games and guided Denver to the playoffs seven times in 14 seasons. He is currently the head coach of the Washington Redskins.

15. JOHN MADDEN

    Madden is best-known today for EA’s wildly-successful Madden NFL video game franchise and his long stint as a TV broadcaster, but before that, he was a highly-successful coach with the Oakland Raiders. He coached the Raiders for 10 years and not once had a losing season. The Raiders made eight postseason appearances, advancing to the conference championship or beyond seven times and winning one Super Bowl. Oakland won seven division titles, including five straight, and had a 17-game winning streak. Madden’s .763 winning percentage is tops among coaches who coached at least 100 games, and only two coaches reached 100 victories at a younger age than he did.

16. MIKE HOLMGREN

    The Packers had fallen on hard times before hiring Mike Holmgren, having experienced just two winning seasons in 19 years. All Holmgren did was lead Green Bay to one of the best stretches in franchise history. The Packers won two-thirds of their regular season games and made six playoff appearances. They won three division titles and make back-to-back Super Bowl appearances, defeating Bill Parcells’ Patriots in Super Bowl XXX before succumbing to Mike Shanahan’s Broncos in Super Bowl XXXI. Holmgren left Green Bay after the 1998 season to take over the  Seattle Seahawks and promptly took the Seahawks to their first playoff appearance in over 10 years. All told, Holmgren’s Seattle teams won five division titles and reached the playoffs six times, including the franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl berth. Holmgren became just the fifth coach to take two different teams to the Super Bowl. An astounding 17 of his assistant coaches went on to become head coaches in the NFL, including Super Bowl coaches Jon Gruden and Andy Reid.

17. MARV LEVY

    Perhaps the best coach never to win a Super Bowl, Marv Levy achieved something nobody else ever has: Levy guided the Buffalo Bills to four consecutive Super Bowls, a feat which will likely never be seen again. His no-huddle offense was a precursor to today’s fast-paced offenses and was the driving force behind Buffalo’s incredible run of six straight playoff trips and four consecutive Super Bowl appearances. The closest Levy and the Bills came to claiming the Lombardi Trophy was in their first appearance against Bill Parcells’ Giants. The Bills lost 20-19 after normally-reliable kicker Scott Norwood pushed a 47-yard field goal attempt wide in the final seconds. Over his 11-year tenure with the Bills, Levy made it to the playoffs eight times.

18. DAN REEVES

    If anybody can relate to Marv Levy’s pain, it’s Dan Reeves. Like Levy, Reeves lost four times in the Super Bowl as a head coach. In 12 years as head coach of the Broncos, Reeves led Denver to six playoff berths, five division titles, and three Super Bowl appearances. In 1993, his first year coaching the New York Giants, Reeves was named Coach of the Year by the Associated Press, and in 1998, he led the Atlanta Falcons to the best season in franchise history: a 14-2 record and a Super Bowl berth in which they were defeated by Reeves’ old team, the Denver Broncos. With 201 career wins, Reeves is eighth on the all-time wins list and holds the distinction of having participated in the most Super Bowls ever: two as a player, three as an assistant, and four as a head coach. Yes, he was on the winning side twice, just not as the man in charge.

19. DON CORYELL

    Best-known as the father of the modern passing game, Don Coryell was an offensive innovator. His “Air Coryell” offenses led the league in passing offense seven out of eight seasons, including six in a row, and were tops in total yards five times. Numerous Chargers set league marks under Coryell: quarterback Dan Fouts set a record for passing yards per game in 1982 that stood until 2011 while receiver Wes Chandler’s mark for average receiving yards per game set that same year still stands. Coryell also revolutionized the tight end position, turning it into more of a pass catching threat than merely another blocker. While Coryell never reached a Super Bowl, his teams did win five division titles, and he is the only coach ever to win 100 games both at the collegiate level and the NFL. His greatest impact, however, comes from his influence. In today’s pass-happy NFL, much of the passing schemes and concepts can be traced back to Coryell. Further, coaches such as Bill Walsh, John Madden, Joe Gibbs, and Norv Turner all worked under Coryell and spread his ideas to their own assistants.

20. TONY DUNGY

    Before Tom Dungy arrived in 1996, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were mired in mediocrity, having failed to reach the playoffs since 1982. Things changed under Dungy as the Bucs made four playoff trips and reached the 1999 NFC Championship Game. Dungy popularized the Tampa 2 defense that was copied all throughout the league and established the Bucs as one of the NFL’s stingiest defensive teams. After he was fired by Tampa Bay following a pair of first-round playoff losses, the Indianapolis Colts hired him. In seven seasons with Dungy at the helm, the Colts won 76 percent of their games, had double-digit wins every year, claimed five division titles, made two AFC Championship appearances, and won Super Bowl XLI. Dungy became the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl, but his biggest impact has been with promoting the hiring of minority coaches. Herm Edwards, Lovie Smith, Mike Tomlin, Jim Caldwell, and Leslie Frazier are all minority coaches with ties to Dungy, and Tomlin became the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl.

The post Top 20 Coaches in NFL History appeared first on GuysGirl.

Legendary Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry described one aspect of his job like this: “Leadership is getting someone to do what they don’t want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve.”

The usual structure of a coaching staff works just like any other business or organization. It consists of the head coach and several assistant coaches. The coaching staff usually works every day of the week, preparing for the next opponent. Many start the next game’s preparation within hours of the previous game ending.

Coaches watch film of their opponent looking for strengths and weaknesses they can take advantage of. Once the opposing team is scouted, the coaches then go to work tweaking their own

schemes and concepts to perfect their game plan. And just like any organization, once the plan is crafted, it’s time to inform the team of the plan and execute accordingly.

Outside of preparation, the coaching staff also has the task of dealing with the players’ emotions and psyches. The coaches not only have to prepare the players physically for their opponent, but they also have to keep players focused emotionally on the task at hand.

With all this work, a staff can include anywhere from 4–15 or more coaches.

Here are the most common positions you would see on an average staff.

• Head coach:

  The head coach is the head honcho. He’s the final decision maker for the team. He’s the one who receives the accolades and criticism. He organizes a staff around him and is often the lead motivator for a team. Each head coach has his own style. Some are very detail-oriented and somewhat of a micro-manager, while others allow their assistants to run with assigned tasks. Often you will hear coaches referred to as a “player’s coach,” and others as “old school” coaches. This refers to their mentality with the players. Those coaches who are a little more laid back and easy going with the players are often referred to as “player’s coaches.” Those coaches, who are harder on the players, are the “old school” guys.

• Offensive coordinator:

  The offensive coordinator is the coach who creates, organizes and calls the offense. He assists in organizing practices and the weekly game plan. In a sense, he is the head coach of the offense. Sometimes the head coach is also the offensive coordinator

• Defensive coordinator:

  The defensive coordinator performs the same duties as the offensive coordinator, just with the defense. He creates, organizes and calls the defense. As with the offensive coordinator, sometimes this can be the head coach.

• Special teams coordinator:

  The special teams coordinator creates, organizes and calls the special team’s plays. This would include the kickoff, kickoff return, punt, punt return, field goal and field goal block teams.

• Positional coaches:

  Every position usually has a specialty coach who focuses just on that position. This coach works and focuses on the individual fundamentals, techniques and duties of that position within the offense, defense or special team. Usually there is a quarterback, offensive line, running backs, wide receivers, defensive line, linebacker, and secondary coach. In many systems the larger unit will be broken down even further (secondary may have separate corners and safeties coaches) or have two coaches working with the position.

• Strength and conditioning coach:

  Many teams today staff a position (or more) that focuses on the team’s strength, speed and conditioning development. He will organize the offseason and in-season workouts

The post What Each NFL Coach Does On and Off The Field appeared first on GuysGirl.

There are 6 original teams still in their original city since the NFL formed.

There are six original teams still in their original city since the NFL formed. These teams are:

• Chicago Bears (1920) – Still play at Soldier Field, which opened in 1924
• Arizona Cardinals (1923) – Play at State Farm Stadium, which opened in 2006
• Detroit Lions (1930) – Still play at Ford Field, which opened in 2002
• Green Bay Packers (1921) – Still play at Lambeau Field, which opened in 1957
• New York Giants (1925) – Now play at MetLife Stadium on the same site as Giants Stadium from 1976-2009

In 1920 the teams that made up the NFL were:

• Akron Pros
• Buffalo All-Americans
• Decatur Staleys
• Rock Island Independents
• Dayton Triangles
• Chicago Cardinals
• Canton Bulldogs
• Cleveland Tigers
• Detroit Heralds
• Chicago Tigers
• Columbus Panhandles
• Muncie Flyers
• Rochester Jeffersons
• Hammond Pro

NFL teams that have moved:

• The San Diego Chargers have moved to Los Angeles.
• The Cleveland Browns have moved to Baltimore and then back to Cleveland.
• The Houston Oilers moved to Tennessee.
• The Baltimore Colts moved to Indianapolis.
• The New Orleans Saints were founded in 1967 as the expansion team in the AFL, but they joined the NFL when it merged with its rival league in 1970.
• In 1999, the Oakland Raiders left Oakland for Los Angeles before moving back after only one season there; they now play near Las Vegas where they were originally based in 1960-1961 (though technically then named “Las Vegas”).

Conclusion

The NFL has grown to have over 300 teams, with many more players and fans than ever before. The league continues to thrive because of the hard work and dedication from all of these people who make it possible for us fans to enjoy watching a game on Sundays or any other day of the week.

Below is a breakdown of the teams currently in the NFL and which conference and division they belong to (for now):

The post The First NFL Teams appeared first on GuysGirl.

– This refers to the first round of the 1983 NFL draft, which is considered by most to be the best group of quarterbacks ever taken in a single round. It included future Hall of Famers John Elway, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly, along with Tony Eason, Todd Blackledge and Ken O’Brien. This phenomenal first round also includedthree more Hall of Fame players: running back Eric Dickerson, offensive lineman Bruce Matthews and cornerback Darrell Green.

Tony Mandarich

– One of the all-time NFL draft busts. He was taken with the second overall pick in 1989 by Green Bay, ahead of future Hall of Famers Barry Sanders and Derrick Thomas and ahead of superstar cornerback Deion Sanders. Eventually revealed to be a steroid user, Mandarich, a 304-lb. offensive lineman with seemingly impossible physical abilities, simply could not play NFL football, struggling to even get on the field for the Packers and eventually being cut after three seasons.

Ryan Leaf

– Another all-time NFL bust, there was ample speculation before the 1998 NFL draft about which “great” quarterback would be selected first, Leaf or Peyton Manning. Obviously, the Colts took Manning who was described as the more “polished” quarterback, as opposed to Leaf, who supposedly had much better physical skills. Leaf was awful, lasting just three seasons and compiling a career won-lost record of 4-17.

Randy Moss

– A projected top 10 pick in 1998, off the field and “attitude” issues plagued the talented Wide Receiver, causing 20 teams to pass on him in the first round before maverick coach Dennis Green of the Minnesota Vikings finally took him at No. 21. The irony was that the Vikings did not need a wide receiver, but Green recognized that Moss was no ordinary player, and he was instantly justified with Moss’ on the field performance. In another ironic turn, the Tennessee Oilers (now Titans) were the only team to actually pick a wide receiver ahead of Moss, taking Kevin Dyson at No. 16. Dyson later became famous for getting stopped just inches from the goal line, sealing the St. Louis Rams win over Tennessee in the Super Bowl.

Tom Brady

– The three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback was drafted in 2000 by the New England Patriots, but it took until the second day of the draft for it to happen. Brady wasn’t taken until the sixth (next to last) round, and in all 198 players were selected ahead of him.

“Mr. Irrelevant”

– The name given to the last player taken in the NFL draft each year. It has become something of a badge of honor to be Mr. Irrelevant and, in any case, the moniker is somewhat misleading. While it is certainly a long shot for players taken in the seventh round to make NFL rosters, every year there are low-round players who do so and, on almost every NFL roster, players who do not get drafted at all make the team (these players are known as “undrafted free agents”). Consequently, Mr. Irrel-evant can at least take solace in the fact that a team felt strongly
enought about them to use a pick at all to add him to the roster.

“Workout warrior”

– A phrase used to describe a player who excels at the combine, but is just not that good on the field. It is perhaps most closely associated with former Eagles defensive end Mike Mamula, who, it was later revealed, spent weeks practicing the specific drills he would be running at the scouting combine to artificially iNFLate his performance.

The post Interesting Moments in NFL Draft History appeared first on GuysGirl.

The draft, to a casual observer, can seem interminably boring, with 10 minutes between picks for each team (it used to be 15). Yet, the draft sparks endless debate and speculation in the weeks leading up to it and is a can’t miss event for hardcore football fans. Many people even host draft parties, like Super Bowl parties, during which they watch and wait to see who their team will add. In short, any “real” football fan learns to love the draft as much as the game itself. With that in mind, here’s a quick Q&A to help enhance your appreciation of the NFL draft.

WHY IS THE DRAFT SO POPULAR?

The draft is the most important offseason event in pro football. And unlike baseball, where young players typically spend several years in the minor leagues before showing up on your favorite team, a first or second round NFL draft pick is (hopefully) a player who will be on the field doing great things the very next season. A bad draft can set a team back years, while a couple of good drafts can turn a last place team into a Super Bowl contender. With the huge impact injuries and salaries have on the NFL, continually adding young talent is crucial to maintaining a successful NFL team.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The teams are seeded based on their prior year’s finish (so this year, the Kansas City Chiefs, who were the worst team, picked first, while the Baltimore Ravens, the Super Bowl champs, picked last each round). In the first round, each team has 10 minutes to make their selection. The time limit is decreased in later rounds and there are seven rounds in all.

WHY DOES IT TAKE SO LONG TO PICK? DON’T TEAMS KNOW WHO THEY WANT?

Yes and no. All teams have a draft board ranking the players who are left to choose from. Frequently (especially in the first round), teams may be talking to a potential player’s agent to make sure they can get the player to sign a contract once they draft him. In many cases, teams do not make their pick right away, even if they know who they are going to take, in order to field trade offers from other teams, just in case.

HOW WELL DOES A PLAYER’S COLLEGE PERFORMANCE TRANSLATE TO THE NFL?

A player’s performance in college is only one factor; and in most cases not the most important factor in determining when they will be picked.

SO WHAT DO THEY CONSIDER?

It varies by position. For a quarterback, skill sets like arm strength and accuracy figure heavily in the decision. Other factors include the players’ performance at the NFL combine, their psychological exam, their physical size and team needs.

WHAT’S THE COMBINE AND WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT IT?

The NFL scouting combine is a series of workouts over several days. Almost all eligible draftees attend (the only ones who don’t are those who are certain they will be taken with one of the first couple of picks so they could only hurt themselves at the combine with a poor performance). The drills include the 40-yard dash, the bench press and the shuttle, among other things.

SO WHOEVER IS BEST AT THE COMBINE, THEY’LL BE THE FIRST ONES TO GO?

Actually, teams have to be careful. The combine only measures physical performances on workout tests. A guy can run a bad 40, but if he was a speedster his whole college career, you may want to disregard that.

HOW CAN YOU KNOW WHO WILL BE PICKED NO. 1?

Lots of times you can’t, but it is a combination of how a player did in college, what kind of teams he played against in college (you play tougher players at a big school like USC than you do at Tennessee Valley State), how you perform at the draft combine, how well you interview, what position you play, and what the individual teams actually need.

WHO IS MEL KIPER, JR. AND WHY IS HE CONSIDERED A “DRAFT EXPERT?”

Mel Kiper, Jr. is a self-appointed “draft guru” who first appeared on ESPN’s draft coverage in 1984 as an analyst. A few years earlier, he recognized the demand for a centralized source of draft information on college players and began publishing The Draft Report. Kiper is well known for criticizing NFL teams for their draft selections, famously stating the N.Y. Jets “didn’t understand what drafting was about” following their selection of DE/LB Jeff Lageman in 1989 (Kiper believed that Lageman would have been available with a much lower pick) and getting into a public feud with then Indianapolis Colts general manager Bill Tobin, after the Colts selected linebacker Quentin Coryatt with the second overall pick in 1992.

WHAT IS TRADING UP AND TRADING DOWN, AND WHY DO TEAMS DO IT?

Trading up or down refers to using other draft picks or players to change your draft position. For example: let’s say the Philadelphia Eagles have pick No. 20, but want a player who they think will get taken at No. 12. They may offer the team with the No. 11 pick their No. 20 pick. To complete the deal, the Eagles may add something else (usually a pick in the later rounds, but sometimes a pick in a future year’s draft or a player) in order to “trade up” to No. 11.

WHY WOULD THE TEAM WHO HAS THE #11 PICK NOT USE IT AND TRADE DOWN?

The team with the No. 11 pick may want a player who they can still get at No. 20, so they can get an extra draft pick and still get the player they want. Or the team with the No. 11 may have been hoping for a certain player to fall to their spot but he may be gone. Sometimes, a team will trade down for economic reasons – you will have to pay the No. 11 pick more money than you will have to pay the No. 20 pick.

WHO DECIDES WHO TO PICK?

It varies by team. It can be the owner, general manager director of player personnel, the coach, or a “committee” that is a combination of people.

WHAT IS THE POINT OF A MOCK DRAFT?

Some people criticize mock drafts because they are not particularly accurate and there are so many of them on the Internet, but mock drafts are not weather reports. They are simply a way of sparking discussion and debate about which players will get picked in the early rounds (and which players may get overlooked) and what areas teams will choose to address. Mock drafts are for fun, not really for information.

SO WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO SOUND REASONABLY INFORMED WHEN I ATTEND A DRAFT DAY PARTY?

Take a look at some player rankings so you have an idea of who the best prospects are at each position, especially the positions your favorite team may be looking to fill. Read over a couple of mock drafts. Get an idea of who may be on the board when your team is on the clock. Pick a player or two you are hoping your team will draft and then keep an eye on the ticker to see if those players are still available. Most important, read the upcoming Mock Draft and related articles on this site! We’ll make sure you know what you’re talking about.

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In 1936, the NFL held its first annual draft.

Founded in 1920, the NFL held its first annual draft in 1936. The draft was held in April and behind closed doors, and it didn’t receive much attention until 1980 when it was televised on ESPN.

When football season ends the Internet already starts buzzing with NFL talk and speculation in anticipation of the upcoming annual event known as the NFL draft.

When football season ends the Internet already starts buzzing with NFL talk and speculation in anticipation of the upcoming annual event known as the NFL draft. The draft is a big deal to fans, a big deal to teams, a big deal to media, and of course a big deal to analysts. There are many different ways to view this annual event yet many common themes are apparent when looking at how it all plays out.

One way we can look at how things play out is by looking at which positions get drafted first. When analyzing data from previous years we see that running backs tend to be drafted high overall or early in the second round whereas quarterbacks tend not be taken until later rounds (or even undrafted). This trend has been consistent since 2008 when Adrian Peterson was selected seventh overall by Minnesota Vikings all the way up until 2018 where Baker Mayfield went first overall followed by Josh Allen being drafted seventh overall by Buffalo Bills despite Allen being projected as having less potential than several other quarterbacks who were available during that year’s draft process like Lamar Jackson from Louisville University or Sam Darnold from USC who ended up being chosen third overall by New York Jets later on during Round 1/Day 1 on April 26th

The process, by which teams select college players to join their rosters as rookies, has swelled to a three-day prime time event, which usually took place in April of every year, but starting in 2014 the draft will occur in early May.

The NFL Draft is a big event because it’s televised, but also because it’s a big business. The process, by which teams select college players to join their rosters as rookies, has swelled to a three-day prime time event, which usually took place in April of every year, but starting in 2014 the draft will occur in early May.

The first player selected in each round becomes that team’s “pick” or “selection” and receives a guaranteed contract from his NFL team

All of that changed when a certain fledgling cable network, ESPN, was looking for basically anything to fill airtime, and decided to begin televising the process in the 1980s. To their shock and pleasant surprise, it quickly drew viewers and became an increasingly popular event. In 1984, they added a “draft guru,” Mel Kiper, Jr., as an analyst and over the years the draft has become such a major sports event that it was moved to prime time and expanded to three days (instead of two).

Are you a true blue draft fan? Maybe you’re just looking for a little trivia to impress your friends with at your next football party. Either way, here are some interesting tidbits about the NFL Draft history:

• In 1938, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Oregon’s Steve Suhey with the second overall pick. He never actually played in an NFL game because he went on to work as a football coach instead of playing professionally.
• In 1939 and 1940, there was no official “NFL Draft” process and teams selected players by signing them directly to contracts or trading for them from other franchises (no trades were allowed during this period). The Chicago Bears were able to secure three future Hall of Famers in these two years: George Halas (who was named head coach), Sid Luckman (who became quarterback) and Bronko Nagurski (a running back).
• In 1957, Charley Conerly became only player ever drafted by two different teams within one season—the Baltimore Colts traded him to New York Giants after being selected fourth overall in 1957; then traded back again after 1958 season ended without finding success elsewhere!

Conclusion

This year’s draft is going to be a little different, but in many ways it will still capture the essence of what makes this event so special. There will be more cameras, more microphones and more people trying to get an insider scoop about each team’s strategy for building their rosters.

The post The History Of The NFL Draft appeared first on GuysGirl.

Players such as Peyton Manning and J.J. Watt led their respective universities in heated rivalry games and postseason bowl games before being drafted into the NFL. Coaches such as Philadelphia’s Chip Kelly, San Francisco’s Jim Harbaugh, and Tampa Bay’s Greg Schiano honed their craft and made a name for themselves at the college level.

But with all these changes, the past decade has been a tumultuous one for college football with plenty of highs and some significant lows. Records have been set and broken, championships and accolades have been won, and feats never before seen have been achieved. On the flip side, scandals have rocked many programs, players have been arrested, a heinous crime has been committed, and long-standing rivalries have been cast aside in the name of realignment.

Here are 20 of the most significant events — in rough chronological order — to have occurred in college football over the past 10 years:

WHO GOES TO THE TITLE GAME?

College football is unique in the way it produces a national champion. Unlike the NFL, or even lower-division college football, there is no playoff. For decades, the national champion was crowned by polls determined by human voters. Most of the time, the top two teams didn’t even play one another.

In an effort to fix that while still preserving the bowl system, the powers that be came up with the Bowl Championship Series. Comprised of the four biggest bowls (Rose, Sugar, Fiesta and Orange), the BCS used a mix of computer and human polls to determine the top two teams in the country. The six major conferences, known as BCS or “automatic qualifying” (AQ) conferences had automatic bids to the prestigious BCS bowls. The system has been in place since the 1998 season, but it has not been without controversy. Seemingly every year, the formula and rules were tweaked, yet every year, some new issue would crop up.
In the 2000 season, No. 2 Miami was left out of the title game despite handing title-game participant Florida State its only loss of the season and being ranked higher in both human polls. Fourth-ranked Washington was also skipped over despite being the only team to beat Miami as well as also beating No. 5 Oregon State. The next season, Nebraska played for the title despite getting walloped by Colorado 62-36 in the final game of the regular season. The Cornhuskers didn’t even win their own division, let alone their conference, yet they were allowed a shot at the national title.

The biggest controversy came in 2004 when four teams finished undefeated. SEC champion Auburn was denied a chance at a national title when the computers chose USC and Oklahoma (Utah never received any consideration). In 2011, LSU played Alabama in a rematch of a regular season game. Many were outraged that Alabama was picked since they had already lost to LSU earlier that year, didn’t win their own division of the SEC and didn’t play in the SEC championship game.

The controversy was not just reserved for the title game, either. BCS berths meant a significant payday for schools, so there was always a backlash whenever a team missed out, especially when an AQ conference produced a mediocre champion who received an automatic bid.

The most egregious example occurred in 2010-11 when unranked and 8-4 Connecticut won a share of the Big East and received a berth in the Fiesta Bowl while Boise State, Michigan State, LSU, Missouri, and Oklahoma State all finished with 10 or more wins yet were left out of the BCS. UConn was outmatched and blown away in the Fiesta Bowl.

Further BCS controversy has come from the various polls used to determine the rankings. The computer formulas used are secret and not revealed, so there is no way to know how they are calculated and how accurate they are. Also, the Harris poll has come under fire on numerous occasions after it was discovered that some voters didn’t watch certain teams or didn’t know the results of some games.

THE EMERGENCE OF THE SPREAD OFFENSE

On the field, the biggest development of the past 10 years has been the rise of the spread offense. Originally seen as a gimmick offense used by undersized teams lacking the talent and depth to be more competitive with a traditional pro-style offense, the spread has become ubiquitous across large swaths of college football.

Even the SEC, with its dominating defenses, has come around and grudgingly accepted the spread after Cam Newton won the Heisman Trophy and guided Auburn to a national title while running a spread attack. Designed to get the ball to an offense’s best playmakers in space, the spread offense has numerous variations and is extremely difficult to defend because of all the mismatches it creates.

There are a multitude of schools that achieved great success with the spread: West Virginia and Oregon became national title contenders on the strength of powerful spread rushing attacks; Urban Meyer used a version of the spread at Florida to win two national titles; Missouri became a Big 12 contender; perennial-doormat Kansas utilized the spread offense en route to a No. 2 ranking and BCS bowl berth during the 2007 season; and Robert Griffin III won the Heisman and took Baylor to new heights while masterfully operating a variation of the spread.

Numerous records have fallen under the onslaught of prolific spread offenses, and the scheme’s success has infiltrated the ranks of the NFL as the New England Patriots incorporated spread elements into their record-setting offense.

THE RISE AND FALL OF USC

For the greater part of the past decade, USC ruled the Pac-10 and the nation. The Trojans were a flashier version of what Alabama is now: perennial national title favorites loaded with All-Americans and future NFL draft picks. The Trojans didn’t rebuild, they simply reloaded.

Quarterback Carson Palmer won the Heisman Trophy his senior season. His replacement, Matt Leinart, also won a Heisman and a national title during his time at USC. His successor, Mark Sanchez, ended up being a top-5 NFL draft pick. USC was simply loaded, and in a city lacking an NFL team, they were the toast of the town. Hollywood stars even came to watch practices. Under Pete Carroll, the Trojans were regular fixtures in the top 10. After a 2-5 start his first season, USC went 67-7 over its next 74 games, including a stretch of 34 consecutive victories spanning 2003-05. The Trojans won a BCS national championship, lost in another title game, and narrowly missed out on a couple of other title shots after late-season losses. USC also was awarded a national title by the Associated Press in 2003 after being ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll but being left out of the BCS title game. The Trojans finished in the top four seven straight years, won six BCS bowls, produced 25 First-team AllAmericans, 53 draft picks, 14 first round draft picks, and three Heisman Trophy winners.

The school’s fall began in 2010, when the NCAA levied sanctions against the university after finding that former running back Reggie Bush received improper benefits. USC was forced to forfeit a number of victories and their national title, and the NCAA gave them a two-year bowl ban as well as a loss of scholarships. Carroll left for the NFL, and his replacement Lane Kiffin was unable to keep the Trojans from falling back to the pack. Kiffin was fired after the fifth game of the current season, a 62-41 blowout at the hands of Arizona State that left the Trojans 2-3 on the season.

The rest of the Pac-12 has caught USC, and the Trojans are no longer the conference’s flag bearers. That role has been taken up by Oregon and Stanford. USC entered the 2012 season ranked No. 1 in virtually every preseason poll, but failed to live up to expectations, finishing the season 7-6 and unranked.

THE LITTLE GUYS TIME TO SHINE

The 2005 Fiesta Bowl marked the first time a team outside of the six power conferences (Big 10, Big 12, ACC, SEC, Pac-12, and Big East) played in a BCS bowl. The game pitted Big East champion Pittsburgh against undefeated Utah of the Mountain West. The Utes steamrolled through their schedule, winning every game by at least 14 points and defeating five bowl teams by an average of over three touchdowns. Pitt proved no match for Utah as the Utes raced out to a 28-0 lead and eventually won 35-7.

Coach Urban Meyer left Utah after the season to take over at Florida and lead the Gators to two national titles while quarterback Alex Smith was drafted No. 1 overall in the NFL draft. While Pitt wasn’t a top-tier opponent, the game was significant in that not only was it the first time a mid-major was able to play in an elite bowl, the Utes showed they belonged. Utah’s victory cracked open the door for non-BCS schools and set the stage for more victories for the little guys in the years to come.

THE BIG 10 NETWORK

The creation of the Big 10 network in 2006 may not seem like a momentous event, but it has had arguably the most profound impact on college football in the past decade. It’s not the network’s viewership or programming that has changed football — the Big 10 Network is only available in about 90 million homes, and the top games are picked up by ABC or ESPN — but what the network set in motion.

The network has provided a financial windfall to every school in the Big 10, and that has started a money and arms race that has changed the football landscape. Other conferences started forming their own media networks in order to increase their own revenue, and that lead to the round of conference realignment that sent shockwaves across the nation, destroyed long-standing rivalries, and made conferences unrecognizable.

THE SEC DOMINANCE

No conference has dominated the past decade like the SEC. Home of the most passionate, and crazy, fans in all of college football, the Southeastern Conference has won the past seven BCS championships. In 2011, two SEC teams played for the title, and it is generally assumed that the winner of the SEC will get a spot in the title game, even with one loss. SEC teams have defeated champions from the Big 12, Big 10, Pac-12, and independent Notre Dame. Illustrious programs such as Ohio State, Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon, and the Fighting Irish have proven no match for the mighty SEC.

It hasn’t been just one SEC team, either. Alabama, Auburn, Florida, and LSU have all won national titles over that span, and all except Auburn have won multiple titles. The conference’s reign doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon considering Alabama will be favored for a third-straight title in 2013, Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, Georgia and Florida were both top-five teams, and perennial bottom-feeder Kentucky currently has the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation all in 2013.

MID-MAJORS FIGHTING FOR THEIR CHANCE TO SHINE

The 2007 Fiesta Bowl wasn’t the first time a non-BCS school crashed the BCS party. Utah, under Urban Meyer and led by No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Alex Smith, had broken that barrier a couple years earlier and destroyed an overmatched and unranked Pitt squad.

Still there was considerable doubt and skepticism about whether a mid-major school could hang with one of college football’s big boys. In 2007, undefeated Boise State of the WAC faced mighty Oklahoma, No. 8 in the country and champions of the Big 12. The Sooners were loaded with future NFL players and were led by stud running back Adrian Petersen.

Everyone thought that Boise State would be overmatched and that the game would be a blowout, but it ended up being arguably the greatest game in college football history. The Broncos were not intimidated and raced out to a 28-10 lead in the third quarter. Oklahoma battled back and tied the game at 28-28 with under 1:30 to go. On the first offensive play following the tying score, Boise State quarterback Jared Zabransky threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown, putting Oklahoma up 35-28 with about a minute left. The crowd was stunned, and it appeared that the Sooners had pulled off the comeback. Little Boise State put up a good fight, but ultimately, it was not enough. Nobody informed the Broncos, however, as Zabransky regrouped and led his team down the field. On fourth-and-18 with 18 seconds remaining, Zabransky threw a 15-yard pass to Drisan James. In a designed play, James drew Oklahoma defenders toward him before lateraling the ball to Jerard Rabb, who sprinted 35 yards for the tying touchdown.

Petersen put the Sooners up in overtime with a 25-yard touchdown run on the first play, setting the stage for more Boise State heroics. On fourth-and-2 from the 5-yard line, Boise State called a halfback pass that was good for a touchdown. Eschewing an extra point in favor of going for the win, Boise State went for two and used another trick play called “Statue.” Zabransky faked a screen pass to the right with his right hand while holding the ball in his left. The defense bit on the fake, and halfback Ian Johnson took the handoff and strolled into the end zone untouched, giving Boise State a wild 43-42 victory and making the Broncos the only undefeated team that season. The game showed that the elite mid-major teams could play with the big boys and further opened the door for non-BCS schools to play in BCS bowls.

APPALACHIAN STATE VS. MIGHTY MICHIGAN

FCS squads defeating their FBS brethren is always a surprise, but no upset was more shocking than Appalachian State beating Michigan to open the 2007 season. The Mountaineers were the two-time defending FCS champions and ranked No. 1 at that level, but Michigan is one of the blue-bloods of college football.

The Wolverines are the winningest program in FBS history, and they came into the 2007 ranked No. 5 and touted as a national title contender. Michigan rallied from a 28-17 halftime deficit, but Appalachian State took a 34-32 lead with 26 seconds left in the game and blocked a game-winning field goal attempt to seal the stunning victory. Appalachian State became the first FCS team to beat a ranked FBS squad and went on to win their third-straight FCS national championship. Michigan dropped out of the AP poll entirely, becoming the first top-5 team to ever drop out of the rankings in one week.

ROLL TIDE

No team has been as successful over the past 10 years than the Alabama Crimson Tide. Under Coach Nick Saban, Alabama has trampled the rest of the nation. The Crimson Tide have won over 80 percent of their games in Saban’s six seasons at the helm, going 63-13. Alabama has won the SEC twice and captured three national titles, including 2011 and 2012.

The Tide is heavily favored to win it all again in 2013 to make it three in-a-row. The team has produced one Heisman Trophy winner, 16 consensus All-Americans, and 33 NFL draft picks. Of those 33 players drafted, an astounding 14 were first-round selections.

TIM TEBOW’S SUPERIORITY IN COLLEGE

Tim Tebow is one of the most controversial figures in the NFL, but before he enflamed the passions of NFL fans and made Skip Bayless a household name, he established himself as one of the greatest college football players of all time.

During his career at Florida, Tebow was a member of two BCS championship teams and became the first underclassman ever to win the Heisman Trophy after being awarded the trophy in 2007. He set SEC records for rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns, and Tebow became  the first player in FBS history to run and pass for 20 touchdowns each in a single season. His 23 rushing touchdowns were also a record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in one season, and he set the SEC’s all-time record for career touchdowns.

Despite all the records and gaudy statistics, Tebow is best-known for his tireless work ethic and tremendous leadership ability. After a loss to Mississippi, Tebow gave a legendary post-game speech where he apologized for the loss and promised that nobody would harder than him and that no team would play harder than Florida would the rest of the season. The Gators responded and made it to the BCS championship game where they defeated Oklahoma after a fiery halftime speech from Tebow.

CHANGING THE NON-BCS PERCEPTION

The 2009 Sugar Bowl lacked the theatrics of Boise State’s Fiesta Bowl victory two years prior, but it arguably had a greater effect on the perception of non-BCS programs. The game pitted undefeated Utah of the Mountain West against 12-1 Alabama of the SEC.

Yes, Boise State had defeated a powerhouse BCS program, but many felt that it just a one-time thing, especially after Hawai’i was routed by Georgia the next season. Oklahoma was good but not great that year; no way could the Utes stand up to the onslaught of the Crimson Tide. It was going to be a blowout, and it was, only not in the way everyone thought.

Utah crushed Alabama, storming out to a 21-0 lead en route to a 31-17 victory. Utah’s defense swarmed Alabama, registering eight sacks and holding the Tide to a measly 31 yards rushing and 208 yards of total offense. It was Utah’s  second BCS victory in as many tries, and the win gained widespread respect for elite mid-major teams.

Just a year later, Boise State would return to the BCS to play TCU in a historic game; it was the first time two non BCS schools had been invited to BCS games in the same season. Both TCU and Boise State would be viewed as national title contenders over the next couple of years, and that is in large part to Utah’s showing against Alabama and the respect the Utes earned throughout the nation.

OREGON DUCKS ARE THE COOL KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Through most of the Pac-12’s history, Oregon has been an afterthought. Between 1950 and 1999, the Ducks won only one conference title. The program started to rise under Mike Bellotti, winning conference titles in 2000 and 2001 and appearing regularly in the top 25, but the program really came to prominence once Chip Kelly took over in 2009.

Behind their frenzied, up-tempo offense, the Ducks ran all over opponents. Oregon has made four straight BCS bowl appearances, including a title game loss to Auburn to end the 2010 season. The Ducks have become one of the best programs in the country and are regular fixtures in the top 10.

Oregon’s facilities are top-notch, and the school’s relationship with Nike — company founder Phil Knight is an Oregon alum and prominent booster — has paid huge dividends. Oregon seemingly has a new uniform every week, and that has launched the trend of schools having special alternate uniforms. It gives Oregon a leg up in recruiting as top high school athletes want to play for one of the coolest programs in the land. Oregon lacks the rich and lengthy history of traditional powers, but the Ducks have sure made up for it in a hurry, fitting for a program that strives to move as fast as possible.

MASSIVE COLLEGE FOOTBALL REALIGNMENT

By far the biggest story of the past decade in college football is conference realignment. The summer of 2010 set off a flurry of moves as schools jockeyed to strengthen their own individual positions.

That summer, Nebraska — a founding member of the Big 12 — left the conference to join the Big 10. The Big 12 seemed on the verge of collapse after it was widely-reported that Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech would join Colorado in moving to the Pac-10. That ultimately fell through, but the Pac-10 did pluck Utah from the Mountain West to join Colorado and create the Pac-12. The next few years saw Texas A&M and Missouri leave the Big 12 to join the SEC while the Big 10 added Rutgers and Maryland.

The biggest losers were the Big East, Conference USA, and WAC. The Big East overplayed its hand in negotiating a new television contract and added an unwieldy group of schools that stretched all across America. Members grew unhappy, and 13 members of the league left. Among the league’s football schools, Louisville, Pitt, and Syracuse left for the ACC; Rutgers went to the Big 10; TCU jumped ship to the Big 12 before ever playing in the Big East; West Virginia also joined the Big 12; and Boise State and San Diego State reneged on their decisions to join the league and remained in the Mountain West.

Conference USA’s ranks were severely depleted after seven members accepted invites into the Big East. That pales in comparison to what happened to the WAC. After being raided by bigger conferences, both the Mountain West and Conference USA needed to replenish their losses, so they turned to the WAC. By the time it was over, the WAC had only two football schools for the 2013 season, meaning the end of the WAC as an FBS football conference.

THE LONGHORN NETWORK

At the end of summer in 2011, ESPN and Texas debuted the Longhorn Network, a network devoted solely to University of Texas-related programming. The network was highly controversial and drew the ire of many schools across the country. Those schools felt it gave Texas an unfair advantage when it came to recruiting, especially after it was reported that the network was considering airing high school sports events. That was one of the big reasons why Texas A&M left the Big 12 for the SEC, resulting in the cessation of a football rivalry that dated back over 100 years.

Fellow Big 12 schools balked at having their games on the Longhorn Network, upset at the prospect of their fans giving money to Texas just so they can watch the game. Many people also expressed concerns about the partnership with ESPN since it blurs the lines between journalism and entertainment. If there is a negative story about Texas, will ESPN it fairly since it has a financial stake in the success of the network?

The Longhorn Network hasn’t been all that successful thus far, but it does serve as an example of how much influence media rights have on athletic programs. Nebraska, Missouri, and Texas A&M all left the Big 12 partly due to fears that Texas would grow too powerful, and the big reason Texas didn’t join the Pac-12 was because the league didn’t want to cede more money and media rights to the competition.

THE SHAME OF PENN STATE

Unfortunately, not all of the stories on this list are positive, and the worst is unquestionably the sordid affair that happened at Penn State University. In the fall of 2011, it was revealed that former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky had been indicted on charges of sexual abuse against young boys. The scandal rocked the university community, especially after more and more details emerged that suggested a cover up by university officials. Sandusky was convicted, and university president Graham Spanier, senior vice president Gary Schultz, and athletic director Tim Curley were all charged with various crimes for allegedly covering up Sandusky’s actions and failing to report it to the authorities.

Legendary coach Joe Paterno was fired and had his name stricken from several trophies and awards. Further, Penn State was stripped of 112 wins from 1998-2011, meaning Paterno was no longer the winningest coach in NCAA history. The NCAA hammered the program with sanctions that included a four-year postseason ban, $60 million fine, and a limit of 65 scholarships a year for four years. Paterno succumbed to lung cancer just a couple months later in January of 2012.

LEGAL FAILURES OF THE NCAA

In 2010, Nevin Shapiro — a major Miami athletics booster — was convicted of securities fraud and money laundering. Shapiro made allegations about NCAA violations. An investigation was conducted, and it seemed like an open-and-shut case.

However, the NCAA botched it terribly. NCAA investigators improperly obtained information through Shapiro’s defense attorney; the attorney was given questions to ask during a deposition for a case unrelated to the NCAA. The investigation of Miami was compromised, and it was a huge black eye for the NCAA. The organization has come under fire and its integrity called into question.

JOHNNY “FOOTBALL” MANZIEL

Known as “Johnny Football,” Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel went from an unknown to becoming the first freshman ever to win the Heisman Trophy in 2012. He led the Aggies to an 11-2 finish, completed 68 percent of his passes and threw for 3,700 yards and 26 touchdowns against only 9 interceptions while also rushing for 1,400 yards and another 21 touchdowns. Manziel set the SEC record for total offense, surpassing previous Heisman winners and first-round NFL draft picks Tim Tebow and Cam Newton.

Manziel also became just the fifth player in history, and first freshman, to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a single season. He is the first freshman to ever win the Davey O’Brien Award given to the nation’s best quarterback and was a first-team All-American. He set numerous NCAA and SEC records and led A&M to an upset over No. 1 Alabama, the Tide’s only loss of the season.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND COLLEGE ATHLETES

Social media has burst onto the scene over the past few years, and college football has not been immune. Services like Facebook and Twitter allow for instantaneous transmittal of information, which can be good and bad.

Breaking news stories are revealed in real-time, and fans can get the latest information faster than ever before. The downside is that once something is on the Internet, it can’t be taken back, and when one is dealing with young college kids, the smartest decisions are not always made. Johnny Manziel created a firestorm when he vented on Twitter about getting a ticket in College Station. Numerous recruits have tweeted dumb things or posted unwise comments on Facebook and suddenly found themselves embroiled in controversy.

Anyone with a cell phone can record images of a player or coach doing or saying something they’ll later regret. Social media has provided fans with even greater access to their teams and favorite players, but that can be a double-edged sword. Highly-touted recruits get bombarded with tweets and Facebook messages from fans eager to convince them to commit to their school of choice or from fans furious that the recruit chose another school. Opposing fans can harass players and/or their significant others.

THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF

Every level of college football decides its national champion via a playoff, except for the FBS. That is going to change starting in 2014 when a four-team playoff makes its inaugural appearance.

No longer will teams be at the whim of faulty computer formulas or unqualified voters. Like the NCAA basketball tournament, a selection committee will be selected to choose the participants. That committee is currently in the process of being formed.

Many people are pushing for a larger playoff format, but the four-team system represents a significant step for playoff advocates and a seismic change for college football’s postseason.

THE NCAA’S GREEDY BUSINESS MODEL

Of all the items on this list, this one could have the greatest impact and change college athletics as we know it. Ed O’Bannon, and former basketball player at UCLA, sued the NCAA and accused the organization of violating antitrust law.

The lawsuit revolves around the NCAA licensing the likenesses, names, and images of players and not providing them with any form of compensation. For instance, EA Sports’ popular NCAA Football video game features former players on its cover and uses likenesses of current players, but they don’t see a dime. Texas A&M sells a ton of No. 2 jerseys, yet Johnny Manziel doesn’t receive any money from those transactions.
Basically, college football players generate billions of dollars in revenue for their schools and the NCAA, but the players get no share of it. Nobody knows exactly what the repercussions will be if the lawsuit is successful, but everybody agrees that the current business model will be shattered. Athletes could end up getting paid, the NCAA could be dismantled, and a new governing body would be formed. There would be employment and tax implications to consider as well, so this lawsuit could really open up a huge can of worms.

The post 20 Most significant College Football Events over the Past 10 Years appeared first on GuysGirl.

The competition, cash prizes, and nail-biting anticipation of every play have fans across the country glued to their TV sets every Sunday to see how their players perform. The best part about fantasy football is that it makes other games more interesting (other than your favorite team of course) and also over time creates a familiarity between you and other players in the NFL who might not be on your favorite team.

FANTASY FOOTBALL BASICS

You draft a team of NFL players to form your idea of a perfect “fantasy” football team.

You must “draft” (select) a player when it’s your turn based on the skill of the player and/or your need for that player to fill a certain position on your team.

The positions for a team in which you draft are: quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, team defenses and kickers. Some leagues also offer IDP leagues (Individual Defensive Players) to be on your fantasy team, but it varies per league.

Once you have a team drafted, you compete against other players in your league for points or position. Your team earns points based on the players’ performance in the real game.

For every fantasy football league, there are similar occurrences that happen in the NFL that you have to do for your own team such as trade players, choose to “start or sit” players who might be performing great or poorly and pick up other players based on your team’s bye weeks.

Fantasy football can be very in-depth in terms of stats and has many variations and rules, but ultimately the game is enjoyed by millions for one reason: it’s just plain fun to pretend you have the same power as an NFL coach.

WHAT’S THE QUICKEST WAY TO LEARN A LOT ABOUT THE PLAYERS IN THE LEAGUE? PLAY FANTASY FOOTBALL

Nothing helps to learn the various players, positions and news concerning the NFL more than playing in a fantasy football league. Playing in a league forces you to watch other teams other than your favorite. And after a little while, you will pick up who the stars are around the league and even some up and comers.

The post Fantasy Football and Why Fans Love It appeared first on GuysGirl.

Introduction

On January 15, 1939, the first NFL Pro Bowl was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The game was played between a team of all-stars from the rest of the league and members of the champion conference. It continued to be played every year until 1970 when AFL and NFL were consolidated into one league with two conferences.

The first Pro Bowl was played in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on January 15, 1939. The game was played between the National Football League’s stars and a team of all-stars from the rest of the league.

The first Pro Bowl was played in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on January 15, 1939. The game was played between the National Football League’s stars and a team of all-stars from the rest of the league.

The game was not originally called “the Pro Bowl”, but it became popularly known by that name throughout media reports as early as November 1939. It is also sometimes referred to as “the East-West All Star Game”, depending on which conference sent more players to it, although this is not technically accurate; under current NFL rules, teams are assigned to one or another conference regardless of their geographic location or home city (in contrast with baseball).

From 1951 to 1955, there were six All-Star Games; in 1951, the teams consisted of players from the champion conference playing against an all-star team from the non-champion conference; 1952 saw members of the NFL’s West Division play against members of its East Division; 1953 and 1954 saw East versus West teams again; and in 1955 it was back to a team of all-stars from the non-champion conference playing a team consisting of players from the champion conference.

As you may know, the NFL Pro Bowl is an annual all-star game held every January at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. While its origin dates back to 1939, the event didn’t become official until 1950 when it was played during Super Bowl weekend.

The first Pro Bowl was actually played on January 15th of that year at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in front of over 25,000 fans. It featured players from the Los Angeles Rams against members of the NFL’s West Division (which consisted of teams from San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears). The game ended up being a blowout with Rams winning 35-14 despite having three players exit early due to injury.

In 1957, under the new AFL-NFL merger agreement, it was decided that there would be only one “Pro Bowl” with players selected from both conferences regardless of which league their teams were members; thus making it an interconference game until 1970 when AFL and NFL were consolidated into one league with two conferences.

The NFL Pro Bowl is an annual all-star game of the National Football League (NFL), played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii since 1980. The game was created as part of the merger agreement between the NFL and its then-rival league, the American Football League (AFL).

Since its inception, the game has been held on a Sunday after it was originally played on Tuesday. It was originally broadcast by NBC from 1950 to 1959, and then again from 1966 to 2009 when CBS got exclusive rights to televise it. Since 2010, it has been broadcast by NBC with ESPN radio broadcasting it every year since 2012; Fox also televises a limited number of games due to flexible scheduling rules in place for their Thursday Night Football broadcasts during weeks 15 through 17 each season when there are more than 16 games being played that week such as Christmas Eve or New Year’s Day where no team plays two home games on those days due to travel constraints so one team will play one road game while another gets eliminated from playoff contention early enough so they can fly back home safely before Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve begins respectively which ever comes first depending if both teams stay close enough together throughout regular season play until December 31st/January 2nd rolls around

There have also been four years where two Pro Bowls have been played, 1960 (one for each conference), 1974 (AFL vs. NFC), 1975 (NFC vs. AFC) and 1976 (AFC vs. NFC).

• 1960 – Pro Bowl, Los Angeles
• 1974 – AFC vs. NFC at Honolulu Stadium, Hawaii
• 1975 – AFC vs. NFC in New Orleans Superdome with the NFC winning 16-0 on January 12. This game was played after the regular season and is not counted as official league standings for the season (however it was counted as a NFL All-Star Game).
• 1976 – AFC vs. NFC in New Orleans Superdome with the AFC winning 24-3 on January 19.

Conclusion

The Pro Bowl is a great way to keep fans interested in the NFL at a time when the regular season is over and teams are preparing for training camps. This game has been around since 1939, but it wasn’t until recently that it became what it is today: an all-star game where players from each conference compete against one another.

The post The History of NFL Pro Bowl appeared first on GuysGirl.

The winners of the Super Bowl receive the trophy that was renamed after the late coach Vince Lombardi of the then twotime Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. Prior to the 1971 Super Bowl, the trophy was simply called “The Super Bowl Trophy.”

Introduction

The Lombardi Trophy is a symbol of victory for some of the best football teams in history. It’s been awarded to the winner of every Super Bowl game since 1967, and it’s one of the most recognizable trophies in sports. But how did this iconic trophy come about? And who gets to keep it? Read on for more information on what makes this award-winning trophy so special!

The Lombardi Trophy is named for Vince Lombardi.

The trophy is named after Vince Lombardi, who was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1959 to 1967. He won the first two Super Bowls and died in 1970.

The trophy was designed by Tiffany and Co.

The trophy was designed by Tiffany & Co. The company has been designing trophies for more than 150 years, including various Super Bowls. This year, it will design the 50th Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The company’s most recent work includes designing the famous ring given to the winners of this year’s NBA Finals (which takes place in June), as well as its first-ever Umpires’ Trophy, given to Major League Baseball umpires (which took place in November).

It’s made of sterling silver.

The trophy is made of sterling silver and stands 7.5 inches tall. It weighs exactly 7 pounds, which is about the same as a box of cereal. The trophy was designed by Tiffany and Co., who have been designing trophies for the Super Bowl since 1967.

It weighs seven pounds.

The Lombardi Trophy is a sterling silver football on top of a tripod base. The trophy weighs seven pounds and is about 15 inches tall, but the most notable feature is its removable football, which can be taken out and used in actual games. It’s also worth noting that this trophy was designed by Tiffany & Co., who have been making trophies for the Super Bowl since 1967.

The trophy costs $25,000 to make.

The Lombardi Trophy is made of sterling silver and weighs seven pounds. The trophy, which cost $25,000 to make, is designed by Tiffany and Co., who also makes the Vince Lombardi Trophies for the Super Bowl MVP Award.

The first trophy was created in 1967.

• In 1967, the Super Bowl Trophy was created to commemorate Vince Lombardi’s contributions to football. The trophy was designed by Tiffany and Co., and is made of sterling silver. It weighs seven pounds and costs $25,000 to make.
• The trophy has changed considerably since its inception. For example, in 2013 it was redesigned with a larger base (2x its original size). This allowed for more room for engravings about each team that wins it; in 2015, the NFL added an engraving celebrating Super Bowl 50’s 50th anniversary as well as naming each player on both teams’ rosters along with their hometowns—a total of 2,016 names are now etched onto the base of this year’s trophy!

A replica of the Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the winning team’s owners, but not the players.

The Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the winning team’s owners, but not the players.

The Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the winning team’s owners, but not the players. The trophy is named after legendary Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi, who led his team to five NFL championships in seven seasons between 1959 and 1967. A replica of that trophy has been awarded to each Super Bowl winner since 1969—except for 1974 and 1978 when it was replaced by an NFC-AFC Championship trophy during those years’ merger with pre-merger champions from both conferences into one league

The trophy has a removable football that can be signed by each year’s winners.

• The Lombardi trophy is made of sterling silver and weighs 7 pounds.
• It was named after Vince Lombardi, who coached the Green Bay Packers from 1959 to 1967.
• It is made by Tiffany and Co., and costs $25,000 to make each year.

The first trophy was created in 1967 to honor those players on winning teams who exhibit “outstanding performance.”

The names of every Super Bowl winner are engraved on the base of the trophy.

One of the most notable aspects of the trophy is how it is engraved. Every year, after a team wins the Super Bowl, their names are added to its base and engraved into it. The names of players from that team do not appear on the trophy itself; instead, they can be found on their own separate plaques.

The Lombardi Trophy was named in honor of Vince Lombardi, who coached professional football teams from 1960-1968 but passed away from cancer in 1970 before he could see his name etched into history alongside those who won it for him.

Winning teams receive a new version of the Lombardi Trophy every year.

When the team wins, they are presented with a new version of the trophy. The winning team’s owners receive a replica that is smaller in size than the original and has no base. The winning players, coaches and management do not receive any trophies.

Conclusion

We hope that you’ll be inspired by the history of the Lombardi Trophy, and that you’ll be able to impress your friends with an awesome factoid or two. The trophy is an important symbol of one of America’s favorite pastimes—football—and it’s even more impressive when you consider how long it has been around. Now that you know more about this piece of Americana, we’re sure that next time someone asks “What’s up with the Lombardi?” at a party or social gathering, there won’t be any hesitation in answering!

The post The History of the Lombardi Trophy appeared first on GuysGirl.

The Super Bowl ring is the icing on the cake to any team skilled enough to win the NFL championship. But along with the tradition of giving out Super Bowl rings, comes along some pretty quirky facts and history tidbits that many people may not be aware of.

The tradition of commemorative rings didn’t start until after the first Super Bowl in 1967 when the Green Bay Packers were crowned champions. Ever since then, winning teams have tried to one-up their predecessor which leads us to the extravagance seen in today’s styles.

Though it’s a common misconception only players and coaches receive a ring, only the team and coaches receive a ring but in truth, both the winning and losing team are allotted 150 Super Bowl rings to be distributed (but not limited to) active and injured players , coaches, trainers, executives, personnel, and general staff. But should a team require extra rings, the team itself has to fork over the bill.

The rings are usually made of yellow or white gold with diamonds in the shape of their logo, a football or the Lombardi Trophy. Most teams also personalize the ring with the player’s name and uniform number but the ring always has the team name, year and Super Bowl logo.

Each ring for the winner is valued around $5,000 but according to league rules, the losing team cannot spend more than half of what the winners spend. Companies like Jostens, Balfour and Tiffany’s will bid on the right to make the hardware but ultimately the choice is left to the team itself.

But not everyone sees a Super Bowl ring has something they’ll keep forever. Whether through unfortunate life circumstances or charity reasons, many players decide to sell their symbol of ultimate victory.

“Dave Meggett is known to have placed his ring for sale on eBay. Two Super Bowl rings from the 1970 Steelers sold on eBay for over $32,000 apiece in mid-2008. Patriots safety Je’Rod Cherry raffled his ring from Super Bowl XXXVI in November 2008 to benefit several charities working to help children in Africa and Asia.Tight end Shannon Sharpe, meanwhile, gave his first Super Bowl ring to his brother Sterling, who had his career cut short by injury.”

Super Bowl Ring Facts:

• Vince Lombardi helped design the very first Super Bowl ring that the Packers received.

• The Chicago Bears William “The Refrigerator” Perry has the largest size ever for a Super Bowl ring coming in at a size of 25. In case your wondering, that’s about the size of a half dollar.

• The Patriots ring from Super Bowl XXXIX has the most diamonds with 124 and weighs 4.06 ounces. Also to brag on their seemingly superior football knowledge, the ring is football shaped and when sat on an edge, rocks back and forth to signify team symmetry and balance. Just go ahead and brag why don’t ‘cha. The Russians probably knew of this snobbery of the Patriots ring design when the Prime Minister of Russia had a friendly meeting with the Pat’s owner, Robert Kraft. Kraft intended to only display the ring to Putin, when he stole it mistook it as a gift and kept the ring for himself. Kraft was allowed to get another ring made while his original still sits in the Kremlin library.

• It takes about a month for the team to hammer out the design of the ring before it goes into production.

• The ring company is not allowed to make any replicas under any circumstances unless requested by the team itself. Even then, the design cannot be the exact same. There are rings that are modeled after the Super Bowl ring that people like season tickets holders could purchase but they are not allowed to sell exact replicas.

• Strength and conditioning coach Mike Woicik has the most rings among players and coaches with six; three with the Steelers and three with the Patriots.

• Jostens has made the most Super Bowl rings of any manufacturer. The next most used company is Balfour with nine. Famous jeweler Tiffany’s was recently chosen to make the Saints Super Bowl ring for their 2010 championship.

 

Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

New York Jets

Kansas City Cheifs

Baltimore Colts

Dallas Cowboys

Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphin

Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

Oakland Raiders

San Francisco 49’ers

Washington Redskins

San Francisco 49’ers

Washington Redskins

San Francisco 49’ers

San Francisco 49’ers

Washington Redskins

Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

San Francisco 49’ers

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Denver Broncos

Baltimore Ravens

Indinapolis Colts

Pittsburgh Steelers

Saints 2011 Superbowl Ring

NY Giants 2012 Superbowl ring

Ravens 2013 Superbowl Ring

seahawks superbowl ring

patriots 2015 super bowl ring

denver super bowl ring

2017 patriots superbowl ring

2018 eagles super bowl ring

2019 chiefs superbowl ring

2020 bucs superbowl ring

2021 rams superbowl rings

The post So Shiny! Pictures of every Super Bowl ring in NFL history appeared first on GuysGirl.

Almost everyone who was born in the 80’s can easily name their favorite Ninja Turtle at the drop of a hat. But according to the team over at Cracked, your favorite turtle reveals personality traits you carry as well as your group of close friends in relation to the turtles.

In the video, four friends are sitting around grabbing a bite to eat who start discussing the famous cartoon and start to compare TMNT to other foursomes such as Sex and the City, Scooby Doo, Seinfeld, The Beatles, and The Fantastic Four.

An important quote they make in the video, which I have never really thought about until now is that everyone has a similar favorite GI Joe (Snake Eyes), Xmen (Wolverine) and Power Ranger (Green-then White Ranger). But everybody picks a different turtle based on who they connect with the most. Who knew a conversation about cartoons could be so damn insightful?

So how do the Ninja Turtle personalities measure up?

Leonardo: ambitious, honor bound and loyal

Donatello: shy, pragmatic, nerd and would have sex with electronics

Michelangelo: impulsive, reckless and hilarious

Raphael: introvert, sometimes bad attitude, cool, sensitive

My favorite comparison is the Sex and the City reference which each character was compared to their turtle personality.

Carrie is Donatello,

Charlotte is Leonardo

Miranda is Raphael

Samantha is Michelangelo.

Watch the full video below–which is well worth your time.

Editor’s Note: This was originally published in 2015 but spruced up in 2022

The post How your favorite Ninja Turtle reveals your personality appeared first on GuysGirl.

The premise of Kings Cup is very simple – all you need is a deck of cards, a pint glass and a group of willing participants with drinks in their hands.

Everyone gathers at a table as the deck of cards is arranged around the pint glass. Each participant then draws a card from the circle. Ever card represents a specific action that must be conducted by the cardholder or group based on a predetermined set of rules.

The commonly known Kings Cup rules:

2 – You (Cardholder picks someone to drink.)

3 – Me (Cardholder drinks.)

4 – Whores (Ladies drink.)

5 – Rhymes (Cardholder starts out a phrase. Each person, in turn, must come up with a new sentence that rhymes off the original. Whoever messes it up, drinks. Ex. Person 1: Yesterday I bought a cat. Person 2: And I took it home to my new flat …)

6 – Dicks (Guys drink.)

7- Thumb master (Until another 7 is drawn, the cardholder is the “Thumb master” whom the rest of the participants must watch like a hawk. Should the Thumb master place his/her thumb on the table, everyone else must follow suit as inconspicuously as possible. Last person to put his/her thumb on the table drinks.)

8 – Pick a Mate (Choose one person to take a drink with you.)

9 – Categories (Cardholder picks a category – cartoons, for example. Everyone must then name something from that category. First person to repeat an answer, or not answer within 3 seconds drinks.)

10 – Draw Again (Self explanatory.)

Jack – Make a Rule (Cardholder makes a rule that everyone must follow for the duration of the game. For example: No cussing. Anytime a person cusses, he/she drinks.)

Queen – Questions (Cardholder starts off with a question to any person he/she chooses. That person DOES NOT answer the question, but rather asks someone else a question. The pattern continues until a person breaks the chain, and then drinks. Note: You cannot ask a question to the person who asked you one – no “ask backs.”)

King – Pour some of your drink into the pint glass. (The person who draws the last King has to drink whatever is in the glass.)

Ace – Waterfall (The cardholder starts off drinking and every one else must start too. Only when the cardholder stops, can the person next in line to them stop. One by one, each player in order chooses when to drop drinking, controlling how much the participants after them drink.)

New Kings Cup Rules

One of the best parts about Kings Cup are all the rules people make up. They add a level of difficultly to an increasingly drunker group of participants.

A recent Reddit thread had a ton of new rules most of us have never heard of. Here are some of the best:

Choo Choo Train: Every time you are laughing, you must pump your arms back and forth. This inevitably gets other people to laugh how ridiculous it looks and soon everyone is moving their arms which causes more laughing and soon everyone is dead. –Bananajon1

If you touch your phone during the game, then the rule maker is allowed to send any text message to any contact in your phone. you better pay attention to the company you have in front of you. –slough0967

Forehead Master: This is a similar rule to the thumb master but you use your forehead instead of your thumb. The last person to touch the table with their forehead has to drink. After a few drinks, people start slamming their heads and concussions start happening. –becomeworldly

Whenever you say something, you have to include “I’ll tell you what” or you cannot make eye contact with anyone. –TeTrodoToxin4

If you laugh, you can’t show your teeth! It looks hilarious to everyone else and before you know it every is laughing while tucking their lips over their teeth. –BUCKWHEATsauce

My go-to rule has always been if you say someones name, you have to take off an article of clothing. The more you drink, the harder it gets. The harder it gets, the more naked everyone gets. – tmelee

I’m personally a fan of the Viking rule. Every time the rule maker motions like their hands are horns on a viking helmet, everyone else has to paddle. Last person to do so drinks. –ziptie1

Water Buffalo aka Buffalo Club is when you hold your drink with your non-dominant hand. If anyone participating in the game catches you at any time holding your drink with your dominant hand, then you chug your drink on the spot. It doesn’t matter if you have beer, wine, or Everclear; you finish that drink on the spot. –liddok3vin

T-Rex arms. Whenever you go to drink, you have to lock your elbows in at your sides so that you have T-Rex arms. If you forget, you drink again. –Ozwaldo

The Ke$ha rule rule. You have to repeat the last word you say say. –lumberzach316

Any time someone cursed they have to write the word on them in Sharpie… worked great especially if you’re heading out after. –irishleeds

Since the universally-hated Little Green Man (explained in other posts) often gets brought out among my friends, I came up with an addendum: if you catch another person breaking that rule—drinking without removing their green man—you can grab your own green man and add him to the offender’s cup. This frees you from the green man rule for the rest of the game, and the person who messed up now has to remove two green men every time. –Maximillien

Every time you tell someone to drink you must compliment them (it ends up being funny more than half the time) – omegawoot

Dictator – lick a card, stick it to your forehead. as long as it remains stuck, you can make or ignore any and all rules.-Buck_13

Three word sentences. It gets very Neanderthalic with lots of pointing and grunts. Usually when someone slips up, we say “Drink face off.” –Jartresto

Every time you target someone (like in a two/you situation) you must touch the person’s chin, look dreamily into their eyes, and ask politely for them to drink. –kelpbites

One of my favorites is calling people by the names of people they have hooked up with. Makes for some fun/awkward surprises and lots of laughing. –ann_egg_veal

Minister of Foreign Affairs. Only the designated Minister of Foreign affairs can talk to people who aren’t playing the game. Anyone who is playing the game have to get him to pass the message along. Failure to comply results in a penalty. –flashmedallion

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in 2014 but spruced up in 2022

The post 18 Awesome new rules for your next Kings Cup drinking game appeared first on GuysGirl.

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For the upcoming SPACE GAAM, their crew holds a super-secret photo shoot earlier in the year for the annual August event. But they also host other events throughout the year that have quickly become a favorite in the North Florida community.

Just over the last year, I was Caulifla from Dragon Ball Z and Mega Man but it wasn’t until January that I got a late Christmas present of being cast as Han Solo—of which I may or may not have gotten teary-eyed when I read the news.

Played by Harrison Ford, of whom I share just a slight obsession with, the Han Solo character appears in four Star Wars franchise movies therefore in order to tackle this cosplay, I needed to familiarize myself with the version/style I wanted to portray the most. Outside of tackling a Rogue cosplay, this may be the most meaningful cosplay I’ll ever take on so it was important for everything to be perfect. 

Based on the materials needed (some of which I already owned, heh) and a little inspiration from the photographer Mark Pariani, it was decided to go with A New Hope version of Han.

HAN SOLO COSPLAY ITEMS

BELT

By far the most expensive part of the costume that is probably too difficult for most cosplayers to make at home— including me.

If you’re in a bind and need it quick, you can expect to pay around $100 on Amazon to get it shipped and received within 2 days. But if you can afford to wait the Etsy delivery times, prop maker Jedi Robe America has it for around $30 cheaper. Both options include the droid caller and greebles.

Han Solo Dice and Droid Caller–Photography by Mark Pariani

HAN SOLO VEST

Similar to the belt, there are two ways you can treat the vest. Either two-day ship a $40 vest or take the DIY route.

I chose the DIY route as I hit up a local thrift store, found a junior sport jacket, cut off the sleeves and used as extra fabric to glue to the front of the vest which resembles pockets.

sry for the dirty mirror selfie

BOOTS

This is the 2nd most expensive item on the list but one you probably can’t get around dropping the $40 needed.

An alternative to buying new shoes is to purchase some boot covers but I’m not the biggest fan of boot covers; especially for a costume like this where the rugged leather look is important. Plus you can always justify the added expense as an excuse to wear the boots outside of your Han Solo cosplay.

Bonus Lando Cosplay at the end of this post 😀

BLASTER

This little blaster was probably my favorite part of the entire cosplay. Snag a cheap $10 replica on Amazon, spray the entire thing with some matte black spray paint, add a little silver paint (or nail polish!) to the barrel of the blaster plus other details and BOOM. You have a prop replica where most people won’t ask if you’re willing to shoot first.

PANTS

Ugh. The pants.

It took three tries but I think I finally have the pants down to a science.

The first time around, I didn’t add the red/black stripes down the side of my pants (I know, lazy). But for this shoot, I admittedly made some mistakes.

yikes

Firstly, if you’re going to buy high rise yoga pants, make sure the purchased red/black striped ribbon has the elasticity to it. Otherwise, you’ll be fabric gluing a ribbon with no give to stretchy pants that have all the give in the world. Then you’ll find yourself safety pinning the ribbon in place, constantly messing with its appearance during the shoot, and consequently throwing it all away because it isn’t worth donating.

Alternatively, I have since purchased two sets of red suspenders, a navy blue fabric marker, and modded the suspenders where I’ll be able to attach them to the top of my new pants and the socks–with the bottom fascinator hidden by the boots.

This route was much more economical and didn’t require me to ruin a set of pants in the process.

Simply cut a portion of the suspenders off (make sure there’s a clip-on attachment at both ends before you start cutting!) and then use the fabric marker to draw the stripes one-by-one, separating an inch apart.

After you’ve drawn your initial lines, go back over the lines to clean up any un-evenness. 

Of course, replica pants exist but they didn’t have the look I was going for as a female-focused Han Solo cosplay.

Side note: these pants are incredible. I may or may not have purchased in two other colors because I love the way they fit and feel; Semi-professional with the comfort of workout pants.

SHIRT

This part of the cosplay is open for interpretation, imo. While you can use an old off-white shirt, I wanted to be very particular about the look of mine. Problem is, I could only find the style of shirt needed in white.

shirt pre-dye job (and vest trim up)

So then I thought to myself, “well, why don’t we try dying the shirt to the exact color needed?”

After purchasing the $17 shirt, I snagged a bottle of Rit DyeMore in sandstone for *synthetic* materials. Rit sells a variety of dyes made for certain fabric types and you HAVE to make sure you get the correct version for your shirt’s material.

It took all of 10 minutes to boil the shirt with the dye all in a big pot of water and the color turned out PERFECT. It was so easy I’m now confident I can dye a variety of my clothes with little to no issues.

HAN SOLO COSPLAY: THE FINAL LOOK

shirt post-dye job — Photography by Mark Pariani

ACCESSORIES

I don’t know about y’all but I ALWAYS seem to overdo it with the accessories.

For this shoot, I purchased:

• Han Solo frozen in carbonite ring- no relation to the movie cosplay (duh) but I just think it’s a fun addition to the outfit. I bought this years ago on Etsy but it appears it’s now only available as earrings.
• Dice replica- it was revealed until years later, but in the original Star Wars trilogy, this set of dice hung in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. They later saw greater importance in the Solo movie and are now available on Amazon for around $20. Not only are the dice really well-made, but after the cosplay, you can hang the dice from your rearview mirror and pretend you can get to wherever you’re going in less than 12 parsecs.
• Millennium Falcon Earrings- Again, no relation to the movie cosplay, I just can’t leave the house without earrings on and if you’re gonna rock a Han Solo cosplay, the accessories should match, imo. Grab this pair on Amazon for around $13.
• Sabacc Card Game- Chalk this up as a purchase I regret but we used it during the shoot so it can technically count as a needed prop, right? Well, it’s a little more complicated than that. Han Solo famously won the Millennium Falcon by beating Lando Calrissian in a game of Sabacc. But by the time the Solo movie was created, another company created a card game and named is Sabacc thus creating a whole new set of rules than what Han/Lando played. Technically this deck is what Han and Lando are seen playing in Solo but it’s a version dubbed the Cariliian Spike; a variant of Sabacc. It’s only $12 so if you wanna roll the dice (heh), grab it here.

All Photography by Mark Pariani

BONUS: LANDO CALRISSIAN COSPLAY

With the character origin story of the infamous Lando Calrissian on full display during Solo as well as the original trilogy and upcoming Episode 9, this cosplay was hard to resist–especially for my boyfriend and host of The Shortbox Podcast, Badr Milligan.

Lando’s cosplay was relatively easy to replicate. You can snag the full get-up to include the shirt, cape, pants, and belt all on Amazon for around $100. There’s also a blaster you can paint in the same method as the Han Solo blaster if you want to have some sort of DIY credibility.

Photography by Klara Cu

The hardest part of the whole costume? Well, outside of growing a mustache and ironing the cape (we tried. for HOURS) but the hardest part was finding Colt 45.

Yes, you read that correctly. In order to gain a little respect from the fellow cosplay community, we DIY’d the gun and hunted down the same beer Lando actor Billy Dee Williams pitched back in the ’80s: Colt 45 Malt Liquor.

It took a few liquor stops but ultimately the hole in a wall gas station had exactly what we were looking for— just in time for the photoshoot.

All Photography by Klara Cu

Editor’s note: This was originally posted in 2019 and spruced up in 2022. 

The post Who You Calling Scruffy-Looking: Han Solo Cosplay Tutorial appeared first on GuysGirl.

That is the problem that I continuously run into the problem of when I hear the terms “cover the spread” or “I’ll take the points”. I do what a lot of girls do, shake my head and smile to give off the perception that “yeah she knows what she’s talking about”.

Many women feel somewhat afraid to ask questions when it comes to sports.

Usually, they are laughed at for not knowing things that seem very simple to the avid sports fan. Avid fans seem to forget that you could spend dozens of years learning about so many rules, stats and the history of each sport and still not know everything.

But that’s also what makes sports so much fun to watch and learn.

I decided instead of asking someone what “covering the spread” means, I would just take the simple route: When it doubt, Google it. And  I’m pretty sure, the search engine won’t be laughing at me!

Read on to find out what a point spread is, covering the spread, against the spread, and over/under mean…

What’s a point spread?

The “spread” is the difference in points scored by opposing teams in athletic competition. The spread is also known as “the line” or “morning line”. This provides the basis for wagering: points may be “given” or “taken” to equalize a bet, or bets may be made that the difference will be larger or smaller than the estimate.

In simpler terms it’s when one team is the favorite over the other… so the spread is how many points the favorite has to beat the underdog by.

So what does it mean to “cover the spread?”

The spread is the difference in points between the two teams when the game is over. It’s what oddsmakers come up with to determine the winner and margin of victory of a game.

For example, the Lakers are the favorite over the Spurs by 5 points. So the Lakers must beat the Spurs by 5 points to cover the spread. This is how it will be written out in a Sportsbook

Lakers -5
Spurs +5

If one team is minus, then the other team is plus of the same number, so really you only need to see one of the numbers, to know the other.

If the line on the Lakers was -5.5 instead of -5, you would have to bet 6 (and have the Lakers win by that much) in order to collect on a bet. If you bet just the -5 then some betting sites would at least give you your money back or a credit towards future use.

What does “against the spread” mean?

A bet where you try to determine which team will cover the spread; not necessarily which team will win. It’s also known as ATS.

What does “Over/Under” mean?

Over/Under means the odds-makers picked the most likely total combined score of both teams. For example, in an NFL game with the Jaguars vs Dallas, the over/under is 37. You can either bet on either “over” or “under”. Over, is if the two scores added up at the end, total to over 37. Under is if when you add them together, they’re less than 37. If the total is 37, it’s a tie, or “push” again.

One last thing…

If you are anything like me and math is not your strongest suit, you will have to read that a couple dozen times to fully understand it. It took a while to find a clear answer on these questions but saved a lot of time from pretending to understand and trying not to look confused if someone were to explain this to me in person.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2017 but spruced up in 2022

The post Covering the Spread? The Line? Sports Betting Terms Explained! appeared first on GuysGirl.

AKA Mr. Steel Arm, Terry Bradshaw quarterbacked the Pittsburg Steelers to four Super Bowl titles over a six-year span. Bradshaw was the first pick of the 1970 draft and went on to enjoy a
14-year career in the NFL.

JIM BROWN

Some say this former Cleveland Brown running back retired much too soon. At the time of his retirement after only nine seasons, he left the game as the all-time leading rusher. He also held the mark for the single-season rushing record, running for 1,863 yards. Doing so in a time when the NFL’s regular season schedule was only 12 games, not the 16 as it is today. He was also the first player to ever score 100 touchdowns and he is the only player in history to average 100 yards per game for his career. Perhaps the amazing stat: Jim Brown never fumbled during his entire career.

BEAR BRYANT

Best known for his tenor at the University of Alabama. Paul William “Bear” Bryant won six national titles during his 25 years coaching the Crimson Tide. He also played on the 1934 University of Alabama National Championship team. At the time he retired, he held the record for the most wins as a coach.

MIKE DITKA

The former coach was also known as “Iron Mike.” Ditka is one of only two people (Tom Flores) to have won a Super Bowl as a player, an assistant coach and as a head coach. In 1988 he became the first tight end to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

JOHN ELWAY

John Elway was originally drafted by the Baltimore Colts in 1983 and he also played two years of minor league baseball. He used baseball to his advantage when he forced the Colts to trade him to the Denver Broncos. Threatening to go back to baseball, Elway stated he wouldn’t play for the Colts because they wouldn’t allow him to be successful. In 1987, Elway conducted what will forever be known as “The Drive” -a 98-yard game-tying drive in
the AFC Championship game. The Broncos won that game but ended up losing the Super Bowl to the New York Giants. That would not be Elway’s last shot at a ring. John Elway started in a record five Super Bowls, winning two championships.

BRETT FAVRE

The NFL’s Iron Man, Favre was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 1991 draft. The following year, he was traded to the Green Bay Packers and this is when the Iron Man legend began. Favre had an incredible run starting in every single game since the fourth game of the 1992 season. He holds almost every NFL quarterback record, including passing yards, passing touchdowns, pass completions, pass attempts, interceptions thrown and victories as a starting quarterback.

DAN MARINO

Some say Dan Marino is the greatest quarterback to never win a Super Bowl title. Having one of the quickest releases and a strong arm to go with it, Marino was one of the best quarterbacks of his era. Marino was the first rookie to ever start at quarterback in the Pro Bowl. He played from 1983 – 1999 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005.

JOE MONTANA

This two-time MVP led his teams to 31 fourth quarter comefrom-behind wins. Montana started four Super Bowls and never lost. In 1999, ESPN named Montana the greatest athlete of the 20th century.

JOE NAMATH

Also known as “Broadway Joe,” this former American Football League quarterback is most famous for guaranteeing his New York Jets would upset the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. At the time, people thought this was laughable. The Colts belonged to the NFL and the Jets were representing the supposedly weaker AFL. Namath made true on his promise as his Jets upset the coaching great Don Shula’s Colts and along the way the game’s first media superstar was born.

WALTER PAYTON

With his graceful running style and almost perfect balance, Walter Payton earned the nickname “Sweetness.” Named to nine Pro Bowl selections, Sweetness once held the all-time rushing yard record. He also held the records for the most rushing touchdowns. Selected to the Hall of Fame in 1993, Payton was also known for the type of person he was off the field. The NFL hands out the “Walter Payton Man of The Year” award annually to a single player who impacts his community through volunteer work as well as charitable contributions.

JERRY RICE

Statistically the greatest wide receiver to ever play the game. The G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) owns three Super Bowl Rings and is the record holder in almost every statistical category for wide receivers.

DON SHULA

Best known for his tenor as the Miami Dolphins head coach, Don Shula holds the distinctive honor of coaching the only undefeated team in NFL history. This two-time Super Bowl winning coach holds the record for the most coaching victories with 347. Shula coached for 32 seasons.

O.J. SIMPSON

Nicknamed “The Juice,” Simpson was the first player to ever rush for 2,000 yards in a single season. It should be noted that he accomplished this feat while the NFL played a 14-game season. He also averaged an unheard of 143 yards per game during that season which is also a record. Simpson later became the focus of many legal battles, most notably the 1995 murder trial of his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

EMMITT SMITH

This former University of Florida All-American is the all-time leading rusher in NFL history. Smith is the only player in history to have won the rushing title, Super Bowl title, Super Bowl MVP and League MVP all in the same season. Smith helped his Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl titles in the 1990s.

JOHNNY UNITAS

It has been said “Johnny U” is one of the greatest to play the game. Playing from the 1950s – 1970s, Unitas held the NFL record for throwing a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games. A four-time league MVP, Unitas was the quarterback in the first ever overtime game in NFL history. Some dubbed this the “Greatest Game Ever Played.” Some point to this game as the start of the league’s popularity.

REGGIE WHITE

Nicknamed “The Minister of Defense,” Reggie White won two Defensive Player of the Year awards. While being named to 13 Pro Bowls, White amassed 198.5 career sacks which ranks second all time. White earned his nickname for being the most feared player on defense on the field and being a minister off of it. White was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2006 posthumously.

STEVE YOUNG

Steve Young holds the distinct honor of being the first lefthanded quarterback to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Young, a two-time league MVP also won the Super Bowl MVP award in 1994 with the San Francisco 49ers

The post Legendary NFL Players appeared first on GuysGirl.

While team executives and owners can be voted into the HOF at any time, players and coaches must be retired for at least five years. The committee decides on a new class every year the day before the Super Bowl by a specific voting process:

• At least 80 percent support from the board
• At least four candidates are chosen with a maximum of seven.
• If fewer than four candidates get 80 percent of the vote, then the top four vote-getters will get in that year.
• If more than seven get 80 percent, then only the top seven vote-getters will be inducted.

Once selected, the actual induction ceremony takes place in August right before the season starts. Football is different than other major sports in that when a player goes into the HOF, they go in equally with all accomplishments listed. Baseball, for example, allows the inductee to don a specific team hat.

The post The History of the NFL’s Pro Football Hall of Fame appeared first on GuysGirl.

A defensive player who lines up at either end of the defensive line. The job of the defensive end is to contain the running back on running plays to the outside, and rush the quarterback on
passing plays.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE (DT):

A defensive player who lines up on the interior of the defensive line. The duties of a defensive tackle include stopping the running back on running plays, getting pressure up the middle on passing plays, and occupying blockers so the linebackers can roam free.

NOSE TACKLE (NT):

The defensive player who lines up directly across from the center. Also known as the nose guard, the primary responsibilities of the nose tackle are to stop the run and occupy the offensive lineman to keep them from blocking the linebackers.

LINEBACKER (LB) :

A defensive player who lines up behind the defensive linemen and in front of the defensive backfield, linebackers are in charge of defending against the run and pass plays. The linebackers are a team’s second line of defense. Each team has two outside linebackers. In a 4–3 defense, teams have one inside linebacker, usually referred to as a middle linebacker. In a 3–4 defense, teams have two inside linebackers.

CORNERBACK (CB):

A defensive back who generally lines up on the outside of the formation and is usually assigned to cover a wide receiver.

SAFETY:

A defensive back who lines up in the secondary between, but generally deeper than the cornerbacks. His primary duties include helping the cornerbacks in pass coverage and supporting the run defense.

The post What Each Position on an NFL Defense Does appeared first on GuysGirl.

The player who receives the ball from the center at the start of each play before either handing (or tossing) it to the running back, throwing it to a receiver, or running with it himself. The quarterback is usually the player in charge of running the offense on the field. He is also typically informs the offense of the play while in the huddle.

RUNNING BACK (RB)

An offensive player who lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. A running back’s primary role is to run with the football, however he is also used as a receiver at times. This position can also be called a “halfback” or “tailback.”

FULLBACK (FB)

An offensive player who lines up in the offensive backfield and generally is responsible for run-blocking for the halfback and pass-blocking for the quarterback. Fullbacks are usually bigger than halfbacks, and also serve as short-yardage runners.

WIDE RECEIVER (WR)

An offensive player who lines up on or near the line of scrimmage, but split to the outside. His primary job is to catch passes from the quarterback.

TIGHT END (TE)

An offensive player who serves as a receiver and also a blocker. The tight end lines up beside the offensive tackle either to the right or left of the quarterback.

OFFENSIVE TACKLE (OT)

A member of the offensive line. There are two tackles on every play, and they line up on the outside of the offensive guards.

OFFENSIVE GUARD (G)

A member of the offensive line. There are two guards on every play, and they line up on either side of the offensive center.

CENTER (C)

The offensive lineman who hikes (or snaps) the ball to the quarterback at the start of each play. The center lines up in the middle of the offensive line, between the offensive guards.

The post What Each Guy on Offense Does appeared first on GuysGirl.

Yard markers:

Little white markings on the field help the players, officials and fans keep track of the ball and how close the offense is to scoring.

End zone:

It’s an additional 10 yards on each end of the field and probably, the most important part as this is where the points add up! When the offense (the team with possession of the ball) gets the ball into the opponent’s end zone, they score 6 points.

Yard lines:

Lines that appear in 5-yard intervals

Numbers:

The 100-yard field is divided into two 50-yard sections: one belongs to the defense; the other to the offense. This is why you hear the terms “the offense has the ball on their own 35-yard line.”

Sideline:

This is where the coaches, players (who aren’t currently playing) and other members of the team and on-field crew stand.

Goal line:

The offense must pass this line with the football in order to score.

Pylon:

A small rectangular semi-soft marker that shows the four corners of the end zone. Should a player trying to score hit the pylon with the ball, it counts as a touchdown or 2-point conversion.

End line:

Past the end zone; out of bounds Hash marks: Used mostly for ball positioning, the hashmarks
appear in 1-yard intervals vs. the yard markers which appear in 5-yard intervals. Goal post: Basically the big yellow “U” shaped thing at the end of each end zone. The vertical bars of the “U” shape are commonly called the “uprights” and is the area that the ball must be kicked through in order to score a field goal or extra point.

The post NFL Football Field 101 appeared first on GuysGirl.

A few years ago, there was an increasing problem of longer hair in the NFL. Rather than take an approach that mandated short hair, the NFL implemented a rule that said if a player’s hair was longer than his helmet, it is considered an extension of the uniform and therefore guys are allowed to “tackle” another player by grabbing his hair.

THE HELMET

• Equipped with chin straps to help keep the helmet in place
• Helmets include air-filled pockets inside of them to protect the player’s head.
• The position of the player determines what kind of face mask he will wear on the helmet. For example, an offensive lineman has a bigger face mask and more bars to prevent an opponent’s hands from reaching inside the face area underneath the chin. But the kicker will only have one bar across his face mask because he doesn’t receive as much contact an offensive lineman.
• A player is only allowed to use a shaded half shield if they have a prescription from a doctor stating they need it. Most players think this is an advantage because the defense cannot see the eyes of the player to guess where he may be headed.
• Since 1994, wireless technology is permitted in the quarterback’s helmet to allow for the coach to send messages to him.

PADS

• Next to the helmet, it’s the most important protective part of the uniform players wear.
• Pads worn include shoulder, thigh, elbow, hip, tail and knee pads.
• Some quarterbacks are known to wear flak jackets to protect their rib cage, which is vulnerable when a quarterback throws the ball

CLEATS

• Players wear cleats based on the position they play and the field they are playing on.
• Cleats come in four different sizes: 1/2-inch, 5/8-inch, 3/4- inch, and 1 inch.
• The 1/2 inch cleat is ideal for dry and firm fields.
• On a muddy field, longer cleats work because they provide better traction.
• Most players wear the 1/2 in cleat on artificial surfaces.

THE FOOTBALL ITSELF

• There were two separate balls used in the NFL during the 1950s. One is the normal brown ball we see today with two white stripes, but the other was a white ball with two dark stripes. In football’s early days, teams did not have the fancy lighting equipment of today and the white ball was used during the night games. Once adequate lighting was obtained in the late 1950s, the white ball had no more use.
• Per NFL rules, the home team has 36 balls for outdoor games and 24 for indoor games available for testing with a pressure gauge by the referee two hours prior to the starting time of the game.
• Twelve new footballs, sealed in a special box and shipped by the manufacturer, are opened in the officials’ locker room two hours prior to the starting time of the game. These balls are to be specially marked with the letter “K” and used exclusively for the kicking game

EQUIPMENT MANAGER’S TOUGH GIG

With all the different kinds of equipment for all the different positions in football, the job of the equipment manager is nothing to shake a stick at. On an average game day, a typical equipment manager’s list includes 120 pairs of socks, 36 footballs, 300 rolls of tape, 48 pairs of shoelaces, 35 gallons of Gatorade, 36 extra chin straps, four sticks of black eye, 400 towels, 24 sliced oranges, two kicking tees, 25 bags of ice and 400 sticks of gum.

UNIFORM NUMBERING SYSTEM

In the NFL, players wear uniform numbers based on the position they play. This system was developed as a means for fans and officials to more easily identify players on the field by their position.

• Quarterbacks, placekickers and punters: 1–19
• Wide receivers: 10–19 and 80–89
• Running backs and defensive backs: 20–49
• Offensive linemen: 50–79
• Linebackers: 50–59 and 90–99, or 40–49 if all are taken
• Defensive linemen: 60–79 and 90–99
• Tight ends: 80–89 or 40–49 if all are taken

The post The NFL Uniform appeared first on GuysGirl.

The bean bags are tossed underhand in hopes of landing on the opposite board. Should you make it onto the board, you earn 1 point; if you make it inside the hole, it’s 3 points. If the opposing team lands on the board or in the hole the same time you do, either the points cancel each other out or they are deducted from the overall score.

FOR EXAMPLE:

You made one bag in the hole and two bags on the board, you should get 5 points total, but since the other team made one bag on the board and one bag in the hole you only get 1 point because the other bags got canceled out.

If you are playing a short game, the first team to 11 points wins, but most games are played until a team reaches 21 points (must win by two).

The post How to Play Cornhole appeared first on GuysGirl.

First and foremost, anyone who missed all or a good part of 2010, 2011 or 2012 for injury or other reasons was basically ineligible. For that reason, a number of names that might otherwise be on this list (Wes Welker, Peyton Manning, Jamaal Charles, Maurice Jones-Drew, Darrelle Revis, Logan Mankins, Adrian Peterson and Navarro Bowman) aren’t on here. By the way, if you’re wondering about an honorable mention list, you just read it. Secondly, we had to keep in mind that football is a 22-man team game, and some positions just don’t generate a lot of measurable or meaningful stats on which to base things. Consistency over peaks and valleys, and impact over simple stats were heavily favored. Beyond that, it’s all subjective. All of that said, here, in no particular order, is our list of the 10 best players over the last three seasons.

RAY RICE, RB

Baltimore Ravens
There’s really no argument that Ray Rice is the best “all-purpose” back in the NFL. That’s code for being able to run and catch. And look at the numbers: three straight 1,100+ yard rushing seasons, three straight 60+ catch seasons. He won a Super Bowl last year and led the NFL in total yards from scrimmage in 2011. Rice is that rare combination of a workhorse back who’s also a spectacular playmaker. Baltimore’s offense would be toast without him.

DREW BREES, QB

New Orleans Saints
If anyone tries to sell you on the idea that the “new era” of quarterback is embodied by run-option guys like Robert Griffin III and Colin Kaepernick, smack them. The “new era” of quarterback started about 10 years ago, and it’s still going on, and Drew Brees is basically a poster child for it. Brees isn’t built like a linebacker and doesn’t run like a wide receiver. But he’s as smart as any quarterback in football (except possibly Peyton Manning) and is one of the most accurate passers in the history of the NFL. He led the league in completion percentage, passing yards and touchdowns in two of the last three seasons and has kept the Saints in the playoff mix despite having one of the worst defenses in football behind him.

DEMARCUS WARE, OLB

Dallas Cowboys
Remember what we said about consistency? Nobody gets to the quarterback like DeMarcus Ware, who has posted seven straight double-digit sack seasons. He’s made six straight Pro Bowls. He led the league in sacks in 2010 and was first-team AllPro in 2011. He’s also forced 32 fumbles in his career, including five last season, putting him in the all-time top five (the stat has only been tracked since 2000, however). More significantly, Ware is the one guy on the Dallas defense every team must account for and every team game plans around. Once you draw that kind of attention on the defensive side of the ball, it would be only natural if someone else started cutting into your stats, but in Ware’s case it hasn’t happened. He is the ultimate QB nightmare.

TOM BRADY, QB

New England Patriots
Tom Brady is a guy a lot of people love to hate, but this list would be a joke without him on it. For starters, there’s his wonlost record of 39-9 over the last three seasons. That’s easily the best in football over that time. He’s also completed 64.8 percent of his passes, thrown for nearly 14,000 yards and averaged 36 TDs per season. He is the key player on the best offense in football. No wonder everybody hates him.

RODDY WHITE, WR

Atlanta Falcons
This is the selection that I’ll bet a lot of people are hot to disagree with, but believe me, when I sat down and looked at Roddy White’s numbers over the last three seasons, I was quite surprised to see just how good this underrated No. 1 receiver really is. He caught 115 balls in 2010 (a league best), 102 in 2011 and 92 last season. The yardage numbers are equally consistent and impressive: 1,389, 1,296 and 1,351. White basically has the same very good season every year. In that sense, he’s a lot like his team, the Falcons. Consistently very good, but people tend to overlook them. Other players may get more press, but White is a terrific No. 1 receiver and a big part of the reason the Falcons have won so many games over the last three years.

ARIAN FOSTER, RB

Houston Texans
Arian Foster came out of nowhere in 2010 to lead the NFL in rushing, rushing touchdowns and total yards from scrimmage, but he didn’t go back to nowhere after that. Despite missing three games in 2011, he still managed 1,224 yards and 10 touchdowns, and then led the league in carries (an insane 351) and rushing touchdowns again in 2012. Houston’s throwback offense would never work without a back who could handle a ton of carries and still just keep right on rolling. Foster is the very definition of a workhorse or feature back that is the focal point of the Texans’ offense and the “must stop” feature every defense game plans for.

JOE THOMAS, OT

Cleveland Browns
Offensive linemen don’t generate stats, but their value to a football team is incalculable anyway. Ever had to sit through a season watching your favorite team when half of their offensive line was out with injury? All of a sudden, your All-Pro running back can’t find any daylight, and your rocket-armed quarterback is spending half the game on his back picking dirt out of his helmet. Finding a franchise offensive tackle is the goal of every team in the draft. Cleveland certainly has theirs in Joe Thomas, who has made the Pro Bowl in all six of his seasons, and was a first-team All-Pro in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The Browns haven’t been very good for the last three years, but Thomas has. He’s one piece the Browns don’t need to keep looking for.

AARON RODGERS, QB

Green Bay Packers
The leader of the Pack has certainly made fans forget all about Brett Favre, hasn’t he? Aaron Rodgers has led the league in passer rating the last two years, and has posted passer ratings of better than 100 in five of the last six seasons. Over the last three years, he’s averaged 4,200 yards passing and 37 TDs. More importantly, Rodgers is the kind of quarterback who makes you feel like you’re never out of the game, no matter what the score or how the team has looked up to that point. While Rodgers doesn’t post gaudy rushing totals (he averages about 18 rushing yards per game), he is a gifted scrambler who keeps plays alive and, when needed, gains the first down or scores using his legs. Rodgers is one of the most exciting quarterbacks in football, and one of the best.

HALOTI NGATA, DT

Baltimore Ravens
6’4,” 335 lbs. Haloti Ngata won’t ever lead his team in tackles or sacks. It’s rare for a defensive tackle to do so. But Ngata’s presence in the middle of Baltimore’s defensive line makes almost everything else the defense does possible. It is widely accepted that drafting Ngata helped extend Ray Lewis’ career, as Lewis was able to roam free reeking havoc knowing that Ngata was engaging blockers at the line and generally clogging up the opposing offense. And it’s not as if Ngata doesn’t make plays – he’s averaged 5 sacks and 40 tackles a year over the last three. He’s also made four straight Pro Bowls and was a first-team AllPro in 2010 and 2011. He missed that honor in 2012, but I’m sure he’ll settle for what he did get…a Super Bowl ring.

CALVIN JOHNSON, WR

Detroit Lions
Although these names weren’t put in order, in some sense we saved the best for last. “Megatron” is simply the most unstoppable offensive player in football right now, and he’s also one of the game’s most exciting players to watch. Calvin Johnson has led the league in receiving yards in each of the last two seasons, including an amazing 1,964 yards last year when he also led the league in receptions with 122. In 2010, with Matthew Stafford hurt and a backup quarterback (and then later that backup’s backup) throwing to him, he still managed to put up 77 catches, 1,120 yards and 12 touchdowns. Johnson made the Pro Bowl each of the last three years and was a first-team All-Pro in 2011 and 2012. In just six seasons with Detroit, he is already in the all-time top 100 for receiving yards. And he just entered his prime a year or two ago. Calvin Johnson is one player who is truly worth the price of admission.

The post The 10 Best NFL Players from 2010-2012 appeared first on GuysGirl.

• 2 ounces olive oil
• 1 cup julienned red onion
• 1 tablespoon minced jalapeno
• 1/2 cup roasted and chopped red bell pepper
• 1 roasted chicken, de-boned and shredded
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish
• 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
• 5 ounces mozzarella, grated
• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 ounces tequila
• 1/4 cup diced Roma tomatoes, for garnish
• 4 sourdough rolls, warmed

DIRECTIONS

Layer two (15-inch) sheets of heavy aluminum foil together and fold 1/4-inch of the edges together to create one sheet. Repeat with another two pieces of foil, to create two double-foiled sheets. Bend the edges of one of the sheets up two inches, to help keep the liquid in the foil.

On a double sheet of foil, layer (in this order), the oil, onions, jalapeno, red bell peppers, chicken, salt and pepper, garlic, cilantro, cheeses, lemon juice, and tequila.

Put the second, double-layered foil sheet on top of the layered ingredients. Fold both double layered sheets of foil together in 1/4-inch folds, four times. When all the sides are folded together, make sure the pouch is not leaking. Refrigerate until ready to cook.

To cook preheat the oven or grill to 250 degrees. Remove the foil pouch from the refrigerator and put on the grill, being careful not to snag the foil pouch and tear it open. Grill for 10 minutes, then flip and cook for another 10 minutes.

Remove the pouch from the grill and slice the bag open. Garnish with the tomatoes, cilantro, and Parmesan and serve on warmed rolls.

The post Tequila Lime Chicken Sandwiches appeared first on GuysGirl.

• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, deveined and diced
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
• 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 24 slider rolls or sweet Hawaiian rolls

DIRECTIONS

Prepare the sloppy joes: In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, combine the canola oil, bell peppers, jalapeno, and onion; cook for five minutes. Add the beef and pork; cook thoroughly, breaking up the meat as it browns. Add the garlic. Depending on the amount of residual grease, you may need to drain some of the fat from the pan. Deglaze with the red wine, then stir in the remaining sloppy joe ingredients (except the rolls) and season with 1 tablespoon each salt and freshly ground pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. If the sauce gets too thick as it simmers, add up to 1 cup water to adjust the consistency.

Serve the sloppy joes on the toasted rolls and enjoy!

The post Sloppy Joes appeared first on GuysGirl.

• 1 lb. Hamburger
• 2-8 oz. blocks cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
• 8 oz. sour cream
• 8 oz. mild salsa
• 2 packets of taco seasoning mix (McCormick Original Taco Seasoning)
• 1 head of lettuce
• 4 medium tomatoes
• 1 package taco cheese (cheddar-jack mix with no seasonings is best)

DIRECTIONS

Combine the cream cheese, sour cream, salsa and one packet of taco seasoning mix. Mix until creamy. Spread into 9” x 13” casserole dish (or throwaway rectangular cake pan).

Cook hamburger in frying pan breaking apart with spatula so meat looks “crumbled.” Drain as much grease as possible from pan without losing the meat (usually about 1 tablespoon of grease will remain), place frying pan back on stove, add one packet of taco seasoning mix and coat hamburger with seasoning using burner on high (this should only take about 1 minute). Spread hamburger mixture on top of base.

Chop lettuce and spread over hamburger. Dice tomatoes and spread over lettuce. Top with taco cheese. Serve with Tostitos Round Chips or Tostitos Scoops.

Sliced black olives and/or sliced jalapenos may be added. If you prefer more “kick,” you can also use a “hotter” salsa and/or taco seasoning mix.

Special note: My family does not like the base real thick so I split the base mixture in half and spread it into 2-9” X 13” thowaway cake pans. I increase the hamburger to 2 lbs., but I do not increase the amount of seasoning mix used. You will also need some extra cheese so you should purchase two bags to be on the safe side. For anyone that does not really like raw tomatoes, by making the two pans you can make one with tomatoes and one without.

The post Gone in 30 Minutes Taco Dip appeared first on GuysGirl.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pounds ground beef chuck
• 1 pound bulk spicy sausage
• One pack Carroll’s Chili Mix
• 2 (15 ounce) cans chili beans, drained
• 3 cans tomato sauce
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 3 cans of water
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

DIRECTIONS

Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble the ground chuck and spicy sausage into the hot pan, and cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease.

Pour in the cans of water, Carrol’s Chili Mix, chili beans, tomato sauce and onions. Stir to blend, then cover and simmer over low heat for at least two hours, stirring occasionally.

After two hours, taste, and adjust salt, pepper, and chili powder if necessary. The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste. Remove from heat and serve. To serve, ladle into bowls, and top with shredded Cheddar cheese.

*Optional:

Add spaghetti noodles to your chili to add some substance or simply use saltine crackers.

The post The Brumleve Chili appeared first on GuysGirl.

Walter Camp is actually credited with inventing football. He was a former player and coach at Yale and developed the basic rules by combining soccer with rugby. But it wasn’t until Rinus Michel invented the rule of 11 men on the field during play that the game developed into what it is today.

HOW MANY MINUTES ARE ACTUALLY PLAYED IN AN NFL FOOTBALL GAME?

Even though there are 60 minutes on the game clock, players only play an average of 11-12 minutes out of those 60 minutes.

HOW MUCH DOES A PLAYER GET PAID FOR WINNING THE SUPER BOWL?

The winner of the 2010 Super Bowl (XLIV) received $83,000 and losers took home $42,000. To compare, in the first Super Bowl, the winners took home $15,000 and the losers got $7,500.

WHO PLAYED IN THE FIRST SUPER BOWL?

The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10.

WHEN DID THE AFL-NFL MERGER OCCUR AND WHEN DID EXPANSION TEAMS BEGIN JOINING THE NFL?

The AFL-NFL merger occurred in 1970. At that time there were 10 teams in the AFL and 16 teams in the NFL. To even the number of teams among the two new conferences (AFC and NFC), the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Colts, and Cleveland Browns agreed to move from the NFL to the AFC so there could be 13 teams in each conference. There have been six new expansion teams to enter the NFL since the merger:

• 1976 – Tampa Bay, Seattle 1995 – Carolina, Jacksonville
• 1999 – Cleveland (The team previously in Cleveland moved to Baltimore in 1996)
• 2002 – Houston (The team previously in Houston moved to Tennessee in 1997).

HOW ARE PLAYERS VOTED INTO THE PRO BOWL AND HOW MUCH DO THEY GET PAID?

The Pro Bowl consists of players who receive the most votes from the following formula: 1/3 fan voting, 1/3 players voting, and 1/3 coaches voting. Each player the winning Pro Bowl team gets around $45,000 while players on the losing team get about $23,000.

WHAT ARE THE MOST POINTS EVER SCORED IN A REGULAR SEASON GAME?

The most points scored in one game were by the Washington Redskins who beat the N.Y. Giants 72-41 in 1966.

ARE PLAYERS CONSIDERED “DOWN” WHERE THEIR KNEE HITS OR WHERE THE BALL HITS?

What matters is where the ball is when any part of the player’s body besides their foot or hand touches the ground. If the player is stopped and pushed backward, his forward progress is where the ball is marked down, not where he gets pushed back.

WHAT IS THE CORRECT SIZE OF AN AMERICAN FOOTBALL?

A football is 8” in diameter and 14” long and weighs about 1 pound. A bit of useless knowledge: the football has exactly 5,398 dots or dimples.

WHAT IS THE WEST COAST OFFENSE?

The West Coast Offense, as developed by former San Francisco 49ers head coach Bill Walsh, is a finesse offense that utilizes a short passing game designed to control the ball. In most conventional offenses, the idea is to run the ball to draw the safeties and linebackers in closer to the line of scrimmage, thus opening up passing lanes for a vertical attack. The West Coast Offense does just the opposite, using a quick, horizontal passing attack to set up the running game. It also relies heavily on the ability to flood a defense with more receivers than they can cover and allows the quarterback to move around a lot more than conventional offenses.

WHAT IS THE YELLOW LINE ON TV?

The yellow line you see on the field while watching the game on TV is the virtual first down line. The yellow line is not visible to the players on the field but rather “superimposed” by the network you are watching. If the offense reaches this yellow line, they have earned a first down.

WHAT TYPE OF SHOE DO MOST PLACE KICKERS WEAR IN THE NFL?

Kickers tend to wear soccer shoes on their kicking foot.

HOW MANY FOOTBALLS ARE USED DURING ONE GAME?

NFL rules require that the home team have 36 balls for outdoor games and 24 for indoor games available for testing with a pressure gauge by the referee two hours prior to the starting time of the game to meet with league requirements. Twelve new footballs, sealed in a special box and shipped by the manufacturer, will be opened in the officials locker room two hours prior to the starting time of the game. These balls are to be specially marked with the letter “K” and used exclusively for the kicking game.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FREE KICK AND THE KICKOFF?

A kickoff is a free kick. Whoever recovers a kickoff gains possession of the ball. The ball must travel 10 yards down field before the kicking team can touch it unless the receiving team touches it first within 10 yards. If the kickoff doesn’t travel 10 yards down- field the receiving team is not obligated to attempt a return.

WHAT ARE THE RULES FOR AN ONSIDE KICK?

An onside kick is basically a crapshoot to try and get the ball back for your team. When the ball is kicked, it must travel at least 10 yards or touch the receiving team player before the kicking team can try to recover the ball. Because of the way the ball is kicked at the receiving team, there is a chance the ball can bounce erratically and the kicking team can then recover the ball, giving them another chance to score.

HOW DOES THE INJURED RESERVE LIST WORK IN THE NFL?

The injured reserve is a list of players who are injured and unable to play. NFL teams are allowed 53 players on the roster and use the reserve so they can keep a player on the team but not take up a roster spot. If someone is on the injured reserve, that player cannot play for the rest of the year.

WHAT DOES THE TERM “FRANCHISE TAG” MEAN?

A franchise tag is usually reserved for one of a team’s best player. It’s a designation given to a player by his team to keep him from leaving via free agency. According to the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, the player must be paid the average salary of the top five players at his position. Each team can only designate one player per year as a franchise tag.

WHAT DETERMINES WHETHER A SUPER BOWL TEAM IS THE HOME TEAM OR THE AWAY TEAM?

NFC teams are the home team in odd numbered years. AFC teams are the home team in even numbered years. The Super Bowl has once been played in a stadium close enough to one of the participants that they had a minor home field advantage. In Super Bowl XIX the Miami Dolphins were beaten by the San Francisco 49ers in Stanford Stadium in Stanford, Calif., just 23 miles from their home stadium.

HOW IS THE NFL DRAFT ORDER DETERMINED?

The draft order is determined by how the teams finished in the previous season. The Super Bowl winner automatically gets the last pick in the first round while the team with the worst record gets the first overall pick in the draft. Teams are is allowed to trade their draft slot with another team.

WHAT DOES THE TERM “OTA” MEAN?

OTA refers to “Organized Team Activities.” It can be anything from an organized training session or mini-camp, to team-oriented recreational activities (whole team goes bowling, to a movie, etc.) Each team is allowed a limited number of off-season OTAs per the Player Association’s bargaining agreement as these OTAs usually take place during the players’ off-season.

WHEN IS FOOTBALL SEASON?

Football season never truly ends, but traditionally training camp breaks out the middle to end of July with preseason games starting in mid-August. The regular season generally starts in September with 16 games and a three-week playoff to the Super Bowl in February.

HOW MANY PLAYERS CAN BE ON PRACTICE SQUAD?

Each team may keep up to eight players on its practice squad.

HOW MANY YARDS DOES THE FOOTBALL TRAVEL TO GO ACROSS THE GOALPOST IN A PAT?

After a touchdown the ball is placed at the 2-yard-line. The kicker usually sets up seven yards behind the line of scrimmage, making the kick 19 yards from the goal post.

WHY IS DALLAS IN THE NFC EAST?

Despite being one of the franchises farthest west, the Cowboys play in the NFC East because they have a long-standing rivalry with the three other teams in the NFC East, in particular the Washington Redskins. Those rivalries trumped geography when the divisions were re-aligned in 2002 after the Texans joined the league.

WHAT IS THE PASSER RATING AND HOW IS IT CALCULATED?

The Passer Rating is probably the stat that can tell the most about the quality of any team’s quarterback. The Passer Rating is an average of completion percentage, passing yardage, touchdowns and interceptions with 158.3 being the highest rating and an average rating being 80.

The following is how it’s calculated:

-Divide a quarterback’s completed passes by pass attempts.
-Subtract 0.3.
-Divide by 0.2 and record the total. The sum cannot be greater than 2.375 or less than zero.
-Divide passing yards by pass attempts.
-Subtract 3.
-Divide by 4 and record the total. The sum cannot be greater than 2.375 or less than zero.
-Divide touchdown passes by pass attempts.
-Divide by 0.05 and record the total. The sum cannot be greater than 2.375 or less than zero.
-Divide interceptions by pass attempts.
-Subtract that number from 0.095.
-Divide that product by 0.04 and record the total. The sum cannot be greater than 2.375 or less than zero.
-Add the four totals you recorded.
-Multiply that total by 100.
-Divide by 6.

The final number is your quarterback rating.

WHAT’S A TOTAL QBR?

Total QBR is a statistical analysis created by ESPN that measures how important a QB is to a football team and how much his play determined whether the team won or lost. It’s much more complicated than the standard Passer Rating as it factors in the quarterback’s skill level per play. It’s new to the sport so it’s still heavily debated as to whether this will be a respected level of measurement of a quarterback’s value to his team. ESPN has never revealed the exact mathematic formula it uses to determine scores because it’s about 10,000 lines of computer code that uses factors such as if the QB made a throw under duress.

The post More Frequently Asked Questions About the NFL appeared first on GuysGirl.

• A team can elect to “go for it” on fourth down and try to pick up the remaining yardage, but they run the risk of turning the ball over to the other team if they do not get to the first down marker. If they do not get the required yardage, the other team takes possession of the ball at the spot of the last tackle and now has four downs to move 10 yards in the other direction.

• The majority of the time, teams will elect to punt the ball away on fourth down. A punt is simply a form of kicking the ball that gives possession of the ball to the other team, but also pushes them back considerably farther away from the end zone.

• Another option is to kick a field goal. If a team feels they are close enough to kick the ball between the goal post in their opponent’s end zone, they may attempt a field goal, which is worth 3 points when converted successfully.

The post NFL Fourth-Down Strategies appeared first on GuysGirl.

Stats are everything in baseball and rooted in the deep traditions of the game. So for nearly every play imaginable, a stat is sure to exist.

Events like, “Pinch runner who has hit more than two home runs during a game wearing the No. 6” seems like information overload, but many stats like this are crucial to the game.

With baseball season underway, let’s go through some of the most important baseball stats…

Batting Average

The total number of hits a player has divided by the total number of at bats. It is expressed as a three place decimal but recited as a whole number. In other words, a player’s batting average will be written as .278 but an announcer will say the player is “hitting two-seventy-eight.”

Key Batting Averages

• 400: It is an incredible achievement to hit .400 over the course of a whole season. In fact, the last player to do it was Ted Williams all the way back in 1941.

• 300: This is the defining line between having a good season and a great one. Hitting .300 is what all players strive to do at the beginning of the season.

• 200: This is known as the “Mendoza Line” (named for utility infielder Mario Mendoza). Hitting below .200 is unacceptable at the major league level.

Batting Average with runners in scoring position

Base-runners on second or third base are in “scoring position” because they can try to score on a single to the outfield. A player’s batting average with runners in scoring position is a way to measure whether that player gets meaningful or “clutch” hits.

Earned Run Average

Frequently referred to as “ERA.” The total number of earned runs allowed, divided by innings pitched, times 9. An ERA under 4.00 is very good. An ERA under 3.00 is excellent.

Innings Pitched

This pitcher’s stat is counted by number of outs, and is expressed in thirds. If a pitcher completes five innings and then gets two outs in the sixth inning, he is credited with 5 2/3 innings pitched. Although inaccurate, if expressed as a decimal, it would be written 5.2.

Left On Base

Sometimes written as LOB, this measures how many runners reached base and did not score. It is typically expressed as a team stat for a game.

On-Base Percentage

This factors in how often a player can draw a walk. It is the total number of hits plus walks, divided by total Plate Appearances (At-Bats plus Walks).

OPS

On-Base Percentage PLUS Slugging Percentage. This is the stat that many experts say is the best indicator of who the best player is at any given time.

RBI

Runs batted in. Anytime a player gets a hit and a base runner scores on that hit, the player is credited with a run batted in.

If a player hits a home run, he is credited with a run batted in for himself scoring as well. Although the word “run” is the plural in this stat, the plural of RBI is RBIs, not RsBI. This stat is also sometimes called “ribbies”.

Runs Created

This is the total number of runs scored by a player, plus the total number of RBIs, minus the number home runs hit.  The reason you subtract the home runs is that on each home run a player is credited with both a run scored and an RBI, even though it produces only one run.

Runs and Earned Runs

When a pitcher allows a man to reach base, he is charged with a run if that runner scores, even if he is taken out of the game and a new pitcher is on the mound when the base runner scores (for the relief pitcher who came in, he is charged with an “inherited run” or “inherited runner scored” in that situation).

“Earned Runs” is the number of runs a pitcher allows other than those attributable to errors. If a man reaches base on an error and scores, the pitcher is charged with a run, but not an earned run. In addition, if an error occurs in an inning, any runs that score once there are two outs in the inning are unearned runs (because in that situation the inning would have been over had the error not occurred).

Saves

While there are complicated rules for when to award a save, the most common is a pitcher who successfully finishes a game protecting a lead of three runs or less.

Slugging Percentage

A players Total Bases divided by At-Bats. Expressed the same way as a batting average (e.g. .645)

Total Bases

This adds up the players hits, awarding 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple, and 4 for a home run. This is a way to measure hitting and factor in power.

WHIP

Walks Plus Hits Per Innings Pitched: Total number of walks, plus total number of hits, divided by innings pitched.  This is thought to be one of the best measures of effective pitching. A WHIP of under 1.000 is outstanding.

Featured image via Scanvive

Editor’s Note: This was originally published in 2015 and spruced up in 2022

The post How to understand baseball stats in a game appeared first on GuysGirl.

But after all this time, we’ve finally discovered that those little lines you use to see if someone is cheating at beer pong actually stand for something: Measuring whatever liquid you decide to drink from it!

How I’ve spent my entire adult life not knowing this is beyond me. But the secret is out!

Red Solo Cup History

Introduction

The red solo cup has become a symbol of American partying. It’s a staple at every college party, backyard barbecue and wedding reception. But how did this humble drinking vessel become such a cultural icon? Well, like most good stories, it starts with beer…

In the beginning, the cup had an ounce marker on it.

In the beginning, there was the red solo cup. The original red solo cup had an ounce marker on it and came in a plastic bag with a small straw that you could use to drink your beverage.

It was introduced in 1982, and it was designed to hold 12 ounces of liquid.

The red solo cup was made of plastic with a red base and a red plastic top.

The red cup became iconic because of its color, size and plastic material.

The red solo cup was the perfect size for a drink and the plastic material made it easy to clean up. It was also pretty cheap, especially during happy hour! The red solo cup became iconic because of its color, size and plastic material.

If you want to join in on the party at your next event, consider using a red solo cup! They are cheap and they make great decorations.

Red plastic cups were popular in college parties during the 1980s.

Red plastic cups were popular in college parties during the 1980s.

College parties are a big part of American culture, so it’s no surprise that red cups would become a symbol of one of our nation’s favorite pastimes. College students drink a lot—and not just in the classroom. They also drink a lot when they go home for breaks and holidays, which means that college students must have some sort of container to hold their alcohol. After all, you can’t just hold your beer or wine straight out of the bottle if everyone else is drinking from red cups!

This means that these tiny little pieces of plastic have had an enormous impact on American drinking culture over the last few decades: before they were used as disposable vessels for alcoholic beverages; now they’re ubiquitous at any party involving alcohol (which is pretty much every party). You might think this makes them pretty boring by now—but no matter how many times we see someone holding one up while partying with friends or strangers alike (or even just watching TV), we’ll always remember what goes down inside those Solo cups: memories worth making and sharing with others later on down life’s road.”

The red solo cup is the unofficial symbol of American partying.

The red solo cup is the unofficial symbol of American partying. The red solo cup is used at parties, tailgating and other events. The red solo cup is used in songs, movies and TV shows. The red solo cup is used in sports and politics. It’s been featured on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” and even had its own Wikipedia page for a little while (it was removed but here’s a cached version). There are entire Facebook groups devoted to them .

But why do we use these seemingly simple cups? Why not just drink out of mason jars or beer steins? What about those fancy glasses you see people drinking wine out of at nice restaurants? If you look closely at how people consume alcohol throughout history, you can see that there are reasons why Americans chose the humble Solo Cup above all others—and it all boils down to the average Joe being able to buy himself an alcoholic beverage without having to spend too much money or go through too many steps.

Conclusion

While red solo cups may be the most iconic, there are many other types of plastic cups available for your next party. If you’re looking for something a little more “classy” than Red Solo Cups, try out these gold-rimmed plastic cups from Etsy instead!

The post Did you know the lines on Red Solo Cups are for measuring? appeared first on GuysGirl.

Since Lara Croft has been around for a while, she has many variations of outfits. For the sake of simplification, the article will help you find all of the items needed to pull off the all-black costume from the movie.

Here’s how to make the perfect Lara Croft costume.

Lara Croft Costume Items:

• Skull belt buckle
• The guns
• Gun holsters for the leg
• Black boots

First thing you’ll need for your Lara Croft costume are some of the basic items. If you are like me, costume price is an issue so my main goal was to get required items  as cheap as possible while not compromising the integrity of the overall costume.

Since the clothing worn is all black, all you have to do is find black shorts and a black tank top. The rest, however, will take some creative internet work.

Detail #1: Gold belt buckle with skull and crossbones

After googling for hours, I decided to give eBay a try (gaming items in particular are incredibly cheap on eBay).

There happen to be plenty of that have the “Tomb Raider Inspired” belt buckle with a belt and gun leg holsters! All for around a price tag of $40 or less.

Detail #2: Replica guns that shoot

Seriously what would be the point of dressing up as Lara Croft if you cannot shoot anyone? Or at least have the ability to threaten someone.

I found a great website that sold spring loaded air soft replica guns that looked very very real.  The guns were a bit pricey when you think that they’re really just an accessory. But at $20 each, they could always be used to have fun with after Halloween is over.

Word of advice: make sure you don’t drop them. One of my guns fell just a couple feet and the shooting function immediately broke.

Detail #3: Black boots

Searching for these boots took the most time. Shopping for shoes online is always a little difficult because you really never know if something will fit or not. After looking on every shoe site you can imagine (Amazon, Zappos, Payless, Amazon again, Ebay, Google Shopping…etc…) I always ended back at Amazon.

For some reason, they have the largest amount of replica Tombraider boots. I wanted to make sure that the pair I bought looked enough like Lara’s but not too goth where I wouldn’t wear them again.

So I put an emphasis on getting a pair of boots that fit the looks/price requirements and those were found on for about $40.

Other Lara Croft Cosplay Accessories

Other details included the black shorts and black tank top, both of which I found at Target on sale for a total of $15. I bought the leather cuff bracelets from Hot Topic for $4.99 each (which I really only needed one but accidentally bought 2 thinking I needed 2). I also bought slimming pantie hose to wear underneath the shorts because with wearing an outfit like that, its never a bad decision to go without something that is gona suck you in!

Be sure to also braid your hair if you want to go completely authentic. And it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to practice her accent used in the movie.

In Closing

All in all, I spent about $150 total on the costume. It is rather expensive but when you compare it other costumes you won’t wear again, most of  the Lara Croft “costume” can be worn again as everyday wear.

Not to mention the guns provide entertainment outside of Halloween. Even if you do find the airsoft beads around your house for years to come.

When you think about one of the most important aspects of Halloween, it really comes down to embracing a character that is not yourself.

And if you’ve ever wanted to break out in a sexy but still comfortable and fun costume, Lara Croft is the perfect character to choose.

*Editors Note: This was one of my first attempts at cosplay. So old that my photos were stored in the old internet wasteland, Photobucket. Thus all but one photo have been lost of this cosplay process. 

However, I recently revisited the Lara Croft character, which I’m pretty proud of. You can check out my new Lara Croft cosplay here. 

The post How to get a perfect Lara Croft costume appeared first on GuysGirl.

From research to the released photos, hit the “next” link in the gallery to check out all of the inspiration, photos and BTS from my Lara Croft cosplay.

Photography: Mark Painter Pariani

The post The Original Icon: Revisiting Lara Croft Cosplay 10 Years Later appeared first on GuysGirl.

White Oak Conversation occupies 700 of those 7,400 acres and is one of the leading facilitie3s for breeding more than 25 endangered and vulnerable animals from all over the world.

After exiting off the interstate, you’re taken through miles of dirt roads and spotty cell reception to the entrance gate of White Oak, where a man in full uniform checks you off a printed list and allows you to enter the property. After following the main road for quite some time through twists and turns, you stumble across a field that opens up as if it were another country.

Endangered white rhinos and zebras are seen in large herds in their spacious enclosures as you drive up to the main building, call The Big Game Room and Great Hall. It’s here where the crowd of 50 people is told important conservation an education this facility is doing all across the globe.

This unique facility for endangered animals houses Indian rhinos, zebras, giant elands, bongos, dama gazelle, southern black rhinos, white rhinos, maned wolf, and gerenuk among numerous other species.

Their flagship species include the okapi and cheetahs, with which they have some of the most successful conservation breeding programs in the country. Since 1983, over 150 cheetah cubs have been born at White Oak, with three cubs that can be currently seen from the trolley that tours the property.

White Oak uses two different methods of raising cheetah cubs. The vast majority of the cubs are raised by their mothers, with minimal human assistance. Occasionally cubs are hand-raised by the staff if the mother doesn’t provide adequate care.

“When these cubs were born, we monitored the process via a hidden camera, but we were not involved with the birth at all. We like our animals to maintain their natural behaviors as much as possible, so we minimize human interference as much as we can. The secluded quiet environment here is one for the reasons that we are so successful with some of these species,” said Brandon Speeg, conservation coordinator for White Oak.

The reintroduction methods used by the staff of almost 30 are considered some of the most advanced in the world. One process can take 10-15 years after the animal has been born, and involves a hands-off approach by the White Oak staff followed by placing the animal into a much larger conservation area in the species’ native country. Because it takes some time to determine if the animal is susceptible to any diseases or parasites, it’s often the animal’s offspring that are released into the wild, creating generations of successful breeding programs that allow these animals to flourish in their natural habitats. One of these successes was seen in 2004 when White Oak and its partners took 18 captive-born bongo antelope back to Mount Kenya for repatriation.

On some occasions, a conservation isn’t such a happy story. In June of 2012, 14 okapis, a close relative to the giraffe, were shot and killed at the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), along with several rangers who also lost their lives. The animals and people were killed by local MaiMai rebels in retaliation to a crackdown on their illegal poaching operations, which is a global multi-billion dollar industry. However, since the attack White Oak, other conservation groups, and zoos helped to support the Okapi Conservation Project to rebuild the field station and increase security at the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. A year later, the organization is back and protecting the remaining wild and endangered okapi that still roam the wildlife reserve.

Though White Oak certainly takes care of international species, they also place an importance on domestic species. Earlier this year, endangered Mississippi sandhill cranes born at White Oak were released into their natural habitat in a refuge in Gautier, Miss. In addition to the sandhill cranes, White Oak works with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and is the only place in the world that rehabilitates injured and orphaned Florida panthers for release back into the wild.

While having the same accreditation as a zoo, White Oak is significantly different from a typical zoo in that they don’t have hundreds of guests per day. But because they’re a part of the zoo community, this allows White Oak to use modern technology, such as DNA matching, to find suitable mates for animals located within the property to breed with animals from other zoos, avoiding complications from inbreeding. Though modern technology is used where needed, most conservation breeding at White Oak occurs the old fashioned way; with artificial insemination and other techniques applied in case-by-case situations.

The expanded openness of the breathtaking White Oak property is only a recent change. When the Gilman family acquired the property in 1938, it was used as a corporate and family retreat on land that was formerly the southern-most rice plantation on the Atlantic coast. But it wasn’t until Howard Gilman took control in 1983 after the death of his brother, Charles, that White Oak officially became a conservation. Howard invested nearly $154 million of his own money into expanding enclosures for endangered animals, constructed buildings such as the conference center that includes a bowling alley, and Al Capone’s bar, the Baryshnikov Dance Studio, and even a 9-hole golf course. When Howard Gilman died in 1998 due to a heart attack, White Oak along with most of his assets was left to the Howard Gilman Foundation.

It wasn’t until March of 2013 that White Oak welcomed new owners Mark and Kimbra Walter. Under the new ownership, White Oak has offered events like Sunset Safaris and Breakfast with the Beasts, where you can witness cheetahs running at full speed, large rhinos with their infants and so much more. Future events planned for 2014 at White Oak include field trips, camps, and one of a kind business conferences. Though White Oak will never be a zoo where the general public can drive up and purchase a ticket, it now has the option for guests to make reservations to visit the conversation. This reservation-only policy is the perfect balance of conservation education for the public while maintaining a quiet environment that’s in the best interest of the animals.

This article was originally published in the January 2014 issue of Void Magazine. All of the images used were taken from a recent (May 2019) trip when I took my mom to visit the conservation and I’m happy to report it’s even more beautiful than I remembered. Check out the featured story highlight on my Instagram page.

The post North Florida’s White Oak Conservation is a hidden gem for endangered animals appeared first on GuysGirl.

At the end of football season in January (for the Jaguars, at least) I like to audit my schedule and see if I can measure the mental/financial ROI of where I spent my time for the last year.

But after choosing to leave radio at the end of December and my first international trip scheduled in mid-January; that audit took a bit more time than anticipated.

I thought by avoiding non-emergency work during an 8-day excursion to Peru would clear my mind and allow for greater clarity to decide on the next phase of my career.

I mean, just look at this hopeful life update video recorded the day before we left.  

Who is this person that now vlogs.

But the trip only complicated my planned next phase:

• Will my voice still be credible if I’m not part of a perceived legitimate platform?
• Will I be OK not getting the media perks I had become accustomed to? (SN: this sounds super egotistical but some of them perks are pretty damn legit!)
• Though it’s never been my intention to portray it this way, the “GuysGirl” name will likely be seen as sexist sooner rather later (if it isn’t already). Should the brand evolve regardless?

My nostalgia for the baby blog which had grown into an adult company created more doubt which crippled my auditing and creative skills. How can I stare at a GuysGirl koozie in the middle of a Peruvian rainforest when it was that brand which got me here in the first place?

When I got back, I kept up the status quo by busying myself with client emails of their projects and goals. I could feel the anxiety building as we got closer to March and I still didn’t have a good plan for how I was going to tackle the next phase of my career. Hell, I’m speaking at a conference in May with Gary f**king Vaynerchuk and I have only a slight idea of what I’ll be discussing.

Then it dawned on me to do what I’ve always done: push through the creative block by ditching the distractions and controlling what I can control.

With the help of a couple of new podcasts,  I’ve built a new schedule and morning routine to tackle the most important item of the day, first. I’ve pledged to spend less and less time on social media and building communication boundaries with clients. Plus adding time blocks for things I should be doing but know they can be easily dismissed such as continuing education and analyzing my own analytics.

This isn’t a magic brush solution but it will help with the unique challenges self-employment brings with the importance of time management and how to have a productive morning.

The podcasts mentioned above that helped:

• Motivational Morning Routine from Detail Therapy with Amy Landino
• Ten Lessons from Self-Employment from Super Duty Tough Work with Blueprint

So what is next and why should you care?

I laid out the new ideas in my latest podcast…which will also undergo a rebrand soon. It’s only 10 minutes-ish long so give it a listen here:

In the coming months I’ve got:

• Expansion to Digital Dispatch; which is my website dedicated to web design/development/marketing in the trucking and logistics industry.
• Tweaks to the Brumleve Brands website to incorporate our new marketing/digital products STORE!! (more info on that coming soon)
• GuysGirl→Bonjour rebrand + relaunch.
• Preparing to speak/demo/attend at Freightwaves’ Transparency Conference in Atlanta.

The post What’s next for GuysGirl? appeared first on GuysGirl.

Because of the success from the conference and growing demand for our digital marketing services, this led to a decision to walk away from sports talk radio–a career path that I loved but with little to no growth potential.

Career changes are always tough. Especially when you’ve made the wrong choice in the past. But I wouldn’t have made this adjustment without the mental clarity I received from Biofeedback Jax treatments.

I know you’re probably asking, “What the heck is Biofeedback and why should I care?” Biofeedback is a system that analyzes your DNA frequency for a series of data points. If one of these data points, like your immune system, stress levels, etc…are weak, the Biofeedback machine will send frequencies to those weaker areas allowing your body to recover quicker than usual.

From Biofeedback Jax’s website:

Quantum Biofeedback has been scientifically proven to reduce stress and hypertension that may be related to illness, injury, or emotional trauma. Biofeedback is facilitated by medical equipment intended to help people relax and re-educate their muscles in order to reduce their hypertension, stress, and pain. Stress is the most common cause of all disease according to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the American Medical Association (AMA).  

Most alternative health professionals believe that if you manage the stress, you heal the resulting medical or psychological problem. What the research very clearly shows is that Biofeedback induced relaxation does reduce stress and stress related symptoms. Biofeedback assists Health practitioners to find energetic imbalances through body stressors and then retrains the muscles to relieve the stress so the body can heal itself naturally.

The Process

During your initial consultation, Stephanie Bell, owner of Biofeedback Jax, will hook you up to a machine in her private office. Filled with aromatherapy scents and calming music, you sit on a large sofa with your wrists, ankles, and head wrapped with bands that will read your DNA frequency.

After reading your frequency patterns, the machine then begins to analyze where the weaknesses in your body are coming from.

This is where the treatment starts. You don’t feel anything during this process and if you wanted, you could even nap during the hour-long procedure.

When your first consultation is complete, you then have the option to return for more in-office treatments, have Steph come to your home/office, or get treated virtually–meaning no office visit is required.

Here are some images from my first visit:

When I Knew It Worked

I’ll be honest–I love science but I was pretty skeptical that a machine could treat me virtually without ever stepping into the office or being hooked up to the machine itself.

Sure, the office visits helped me destress but I wasn’t sure if I could attribute that to the actual treatment or the relaxing room settings with Steph’s insane ability to help you talk through what ails you emotionally and physically. She seriously has a gift of caring.

But several days before my trucking software demo at a Freightwaves conference in Texas, I was hit with a nasty “is this the flu” type of cold. These were also the days I needed to be completely focused and help my team finalize the demo we needed. In other words, I screamed I CANNOT GET SICK THIS WEEK and sure enough, I did.

After Instagramming a chicken soup crock pot recipe, as one does when they’re sick, Steph slid into my DM’s asking to virtually treat me.

“Ok, sure. Let’s give it a go!”

Shortly before I dove into bed, Steph texted that she was going to “run me all night” meaning the Biofeedback machine would virtually find me based off my unique DNA frequency, read my weaknesses, and fix them so my immune system could work some magic.

I’ll be damned if I didn’t wake up the next morning without a hint of a stuffy nose, sore throat and the damn sneezing was nonexistent.

That’s the moment Steph made me a Biofeedback believer.

Days later I crushed the conference to the point where I was invited back to the next one to SPEAK! Which if you’ve ever been to a conference, you know how big of a deal becoming a speaker can be. And I wouldn’t have been able to do it if I was run down all week because of a bad cold.

For my people who seek alternative health options outside of prescription pills with symptoms that sound worse than whatever you’re dealing with, check out Steph over at Biofeedback Jax.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

tfw when a potential investor says “send me your deck and let’s set up a call.” 〰️ For those who have followed my sports/entertainment career, you may not know for the better part of the last decade, I’ve also worked in logistics. I started out as an executive assistant working side by side with the CEO for a $140 million dollar company who had zero marketing. My former boss/mentor knew I had a blog so he invested by sending me to inbound marketing conferences and web design classes. He allowed me to have free marketing reign not only his company but several companies to follow. ************************************************************ It was close to two years ago that he urged me to start my own business saying “it’s time for me to push you out of the nest.” And here I am—at a major logistics conference—pitching to some of the top logistics/trucking executives from all over the globe and potential venture capitalists about my marketing products. I’m forever grateful to Al Steele for believing in me when I was just a waitress blogging on the side and looking for a new job. And thankful to the @freightwaves team for not only hosting the conference but being so incredibly helpful and friendly. #MarketWaves18 was such a great experience and I can’t wait to share more details in videos coming soon. ************************************************************ Until then, I’m off to visit one of my first clients also based in Dallas before I head home to my man, my fam, and sleep in my own bed. Friendly reminder to those out there chasing their dreams: success is NEVER overnight. It’s a culmination of minor wins, setbacks, and refusing to quit that turns opportunity into what you deem as success. ************************************************************ ????@FreightWaves #trucking #logistics #supplychain #marketing #entrepreneur #software #freightwaves

A post shared by Blythe Brumleve (@blythebrum) on Nov 14, 2018 at 11:01am PST

BONUS:

Along with DNA frequency treatments plus body wraps, massage therapist and skin care expert Terri Pepitone of Balance Jax is also located in the same office. I received my first-ever facial using their O2 Facial treatment and let me just tell ya, my face felt like a baby’s butt for days. In addition to being super knowledgeable to a skincare newbie like myself, Terri was able to offer advice on dealing with adult acne and the subsequent scarring I’ve suffered for years.

Biofeedback Jax Contact Info:

Visit Biofeedback Jax’s website

Biofeedback Jax’s Instagram page

Book an appointment online

Balance Spa Contact Info

Balance Spa’s website

Balance Spa’s Facebook page

TLDR: Trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle during football season has been a HUGE challenge for me. With an ever-increasing client workload at Brumleve Brands along with broadcasting and football games, it’s easy to put myself and health dead last. As I get older (30+ club) I’ve been looking for new ways to keep up with a healthy regimen for mind, body, and spirit. I admittedly have never been to a wellness spa so after checking out Biofeedback Jax for three months, they’re a great fit for my people who seek alternative health options.

This post was created in partnership with Biofeedback Jax. While the services were complimentary in exchange for coverage on Instagram and this blog post, my review of their services is my own opinion and without influence from the partnership.

The post Biofeedback Jax Review: How These Treatments Helped Me Personally and Professionally appeared first on GuysGirl.

Over the weekend the Jaguars snapped their 7 game losing streak with a 6 to nothing win over the Colts. But you’d think after snapping a losing streak THAT long, fans would be..happier? That’s not the case as we discuss why a win actually made us a little grumpy. In addition to recapping the Colts, we also preview another division rival in the Tennessee Titans. 

In more news that should make you more than grumpy, the NFL had another half-ass response to a domestic violence incident involving Chiefs star running back Kareem Hunt. We talk about this hot topic and the NFL’s lack of a response with Kansas City Star’s beat writer Brooke Pryor.

In addition to these topics, we discuss which cities are our favorite to visit, unsportsmanlike behavior, and which popular TV shows that we can’t stand.

Blythe is a sports and entertainment broadcaster based in Jacksonville, Florida. When she’s not pumping out marketing how-to’s on Brumleve Brands, she’s covering sports and culture in the North Florida market and beyond.

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand
Livestream Software: Switcher Studios
YouTube Marketing Help: TubeBuddy
Amazon: Influencer Store

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

The post Jaguars, Unsportsmanlike Behavior, Kareem Hunt, and Favorite Cities to Visit appeared first on GuysGirl.

ABOUT THIS SHOW

With the Jaguars disappointing season which has led to 7 straight losses, many fans who once thought a Super Bowl appearance was likely now expect the team to lose out; thus securing a higher draft slot.

The trouble with this concept is when you expect your team to lose, it sets the tone of a loser mindset that can take years to fully get rid of. Former Cincinnati Reds GM Brad Kullman says the ‘lose now to draft higher’ theory one of the biggest downfalls in America sports. And with a new book release, Losing to Win, he has a new concept for teams in all the major sports leagues to reward competitive play for an entire season-despite the team’s record.

We had Brad on the show to talk about the likelihood of this theory becoming widely adopted and why tanking for the draft should be abolished.

Get Brad Kullman’s book: Losing to Win

WANT MORE FROM GUYSGIRL?

Website

Twitter

Instagram

Amazon

LINKS FROM THE SHOW:

Blythe is a sports and entertainment broadcaster based in Jacksonville, Florida. When she’s not pumping out marketing how-to’s on Brumleve Brands, she’s covering sports and culture in the North Florida market and beyond.

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam

Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti

Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On

Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones

Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light

Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand

Livestream Software: Switcher Studios

YouTube Marketing Help: TubeBuddy

Though these are affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

The post Interviewing Cincinnati Reds GM Brad Kullman on his new draft concept to avoid tanking appeared first on GuysGirl.

Jessica was the first woman in sports broadcasting that I ever worked with and honestly….she’s a big inspiration to me both personally and professionally. She spearheaded getting the first football show in the country hosted by all women in Helmets and Heels to come to life at 1010 and I’ve wanted to chat with her ever since she got the big promotion.

In this interview, Jessica details her life growing up as a sports fan, getting involved in sports media and the challenges she faces in this ever-evolving industry.

FOLLOW JESSICA ON SOCIAL:

Twitter // Instagram

GET VOID’S SPORTS ISSUE:

Pick Up // Read Online

MUSIC FROM THIS VIDEO+PODCAST:

Mecca tha Marvelous: Instagram // Twitter // Soundcloud

The post Jessica Blaylock: Interview with Miami Marlins and Florida Panthers Sideline Reporter appeared first on GuysGirl.

One of the topics on this week’s show was a CNN article asking. “Is your sports team killing you?”

And lemmie just tell ya, after Sunday’s embarrassing loss against the Dallas Cowboys I can say with certainty this Jaguars team is trying to kill me along with many others. Therefore, another therapeutic vent session is needed.

On this week’s Helmets and Heels, we attempt to dissect what’s wrong with this team that had Super Bowl expectations, our moods during the game, and the things we should avoid so the team doesn’t kill us.

Plus dive into a few topics like which retired player would we love to see again, the Kawhi Leonard laugh, and if Dede Westbrook should be celebrating a touchdown in a blowout loss.

Blythe is a sports and entertainment broadcaster based in Jacksonville, Florida. When she’s not pumping out marketing how-to’s on Brumleve Brands, she’s covering sports and culture in the North Florida market and beyond.

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand
Livestream Software: Switcher Studios
YouTube Marketing Help: TubeBuddy
Amazon: Influencer Store

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

The post Throw this whole Jaguars team in rice appeared first on GuysGirl.

You ever have one of those workdays where you think, “Damn I knocked it out of the park today.”

That was the case for this week’s show where we got to talk about another stellar performance out of Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles, the team’s 3-1 record, and heading to Kansas City to face off against the undefeated Chiefs.

Along with plenty of Jags talk, we chat with Chiefs beat reporter Brooke Pryor, dive into a debate about home field advantage and if it exists at all, plus a discussion on the questionable sexism over at Barstool Sports.

BONUS!

I’ve been a big fan of Sprots Takes for quite some time and this week, their founder Gat and I chatted about the upcoming  matchup between our squads. If you’d like to hear a bonus interview about the Jaguars vs. Chiefs, check it out here. 

Blythe is a sports and entertainment broadcaster based in Jacksonville, Florida. When she’s not pumping out marketing how-to’s on Brumleve Brands, she’s covering sports and culture in the North Florida market and beyond.

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand
Livestream Software: Switcher Studios
YouTube Marketing Help: TubeBuddy

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

The post Jaguars get to 3-1 record and now face off against the undefeated Chiefs appeared first on GuysGirl.

In collaboration with Void Magazine, I interviewed Mackenzie along with other women in sports media who have Jacksonville ties for a story dubbed “Females Talking Routes…..and getting paid to do it.”

Yes, that’s a play off Panthers QB Cam Newton’s infamous comments in 2017 about women working in sports media which we hope to change with interviews like this. You can catch this full editorial which debuts in Void’s September Sports Issue with bonus video and podcast interviews that we used for the story.

In this interview, Mackenzie details her life growing up as a sports fan, getting involved in sports media and the challenges she faces in this ever-evolving industry.

FOLLOW MACKENZIE ON SOCIAL:

Twitter // Instagram

GET VOID’S SPORTS ISSUE:

Pick Up // Read Online

MUSIC FROM THIS VIDEO+PODCAST:

Mecca tha Marvelous: Instagram // Twitter // Soundcloud

The post Mackenzie Thirkill: Interview with Orlando Magic Sideline Reporter appeared first on GuysGirl.

In this interview, Alyssa details her life growing up as a sports fan, getting involved in sports media and the challenges she faces in this ever-evolving industry.

FOLLOW ALYSSA ON SOCIAL:

Twitter // Instagram

GET VOID’S SPORTS ISSUE:

Pick Up // Read Online

MUSIC FROM THIS VIDEO+PODCAST:

Mecca tha Marvelous: Instagram // Twitter // Soundcloud

Blythe is a sports and entertainment broadcaster based in Jacksonville, Florida. When she’s not pumping out marketing how-to’s on Brumleve Brands, she’s covering sports and culture in the North Florida market and beyond.

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand
Livestream Software: Switcher Studios

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

The post Alyssa Lang: Interview with SEC Network Reporter appeared first on GuysGirl.

WELL WELL WELL how the mighty do fall.

As much as a September game can be revenge of an afc championship game, that was the case last Sunday in Jacksonville as Blake Bortles lit up the Patriots defense and outplayed one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time in Tom Brady.

The Jaguars came away from the home opener with a 2-0 record so we got a chance to dive into the game atmosphere, what this win means for the rest of the season and if Donna, the Patriots fan, was cheering on two squads in her last show before she gives birth.

We get into alllllllll this plus talk about Blaine Gabbert making his return to Jacksonville….wearing a damn Titans jersey and we ask the question if Patriots fans are insecure???

Let’s get to it…..

Blythe is a sports and entertainment broadcaster based in Jacksonville, Florida. When she’s not pumping out marketing how-to’s on Brumleve Brands, she’s covering sports and culture in the North Florida market and beyond.

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand
Livestream Software: Switcher Studios

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

The post Blake Bortles out-plays Tom Brady and looks to do the same against Blaine Gabbert appeared first on GuysGirl.

Last weekend we were all witnesses to an incredible weekend of football. And I’m not just talking about Aaron Rodgers leading the Packers to a win over the Bears.

Not only did the Jaguars come away with a win against Tom Coughlin’s former team, but the rest of the AFC South squads all lost leaving Jacksonville alone at the top of the division.

And who comes to town this week? The New England Patriots.

New England at Jacksonville won’t be a playoff rematch….yet. But it is a rematch of the two teams who squared off in last season’s AFC Championship game.

Bill Belichick’s winning percentage in the month of September is a measly 66 percent compared to his 83 percent December winning percentage….so I expect some experimentation for both teams that could potentially meet again in this year’s playoffs.

Listen as the ladies of Helmets and Heels discuss the Jags first big win of the season against the Giants, how we think the squad will perform against the visiting Pats, plus a lively debate on the NFL viewing experience vs. college football.

Blythe is a sports and entertainment broadcaster based in Jacksonville, Florida. When she’s not pumping out marketing how-to’s on Brumleve Brands, she’s covering sports and culture in the North Florida market and beyond.

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand
Livestream Software: Switcher Studios

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

The post Where a Patriots fan asks Jaguars fans what to expect in the AFC Championship rematch appeared first on GuysGirl.

During football season is when our show is lucky enough to land some pretty incredible guests. One of best we’ve had in a while is Jaguars offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.

Hackett was the team’s former quarterbacks coach to Blake Bortles before being promoted as OC. Having that personal working relationship with a QB is vital, in my opinion, to the rise we’ve seen in Bortles’ confidence and performance throughout the 2017 season and playoffs.

In this interview, we talk plenty of football and expectations, but we also dive into the human side of Hackett–which includes some great stories about his dancing abilities, favorite Star Wars character and his favorite movie from the iconic saga.

But before all that…

We kick the show off with an interesting debate on the Jaguars choices in team captains and what to look out for during their week one matchup against the New York Giants.

Blythe is a sports and entertainment broadcaster based in Jacksonville, Florida. When she’s not pumping out marketing how-to’s on Brumleve Brands, she’s covering sports and culture in the North Florida market and beyond.

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand
Livestream Software: Switcher Studios

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

The post Jaguars OC Nathaniel Hackett talks Blake Bortles and favorite Star Wars movies appeared first on GuysGirl.

In not so heavy news, we also recap Jaguars vs Falcons, an HBO special on cheerleaders in sports and so much more.

Give the podcast a listen below or watch the livestream. Maybe even do both!

HOW TO HELP

I briefly mentioned this during the discussion but if you wanted to make a donation that helps the victims in the Jacksonville Landing Mass Shooting, via the Gamers Give Back GLHF page on GoFundMe’s website.

There are also a couple local companies selling t-shirts that benefits the victims and first responders.

Void Magazine’s shirts have shirts with Jacksonville skyline where 100 percent of the proceeds go to the local first responders.

The other company is The Daily Rally–which is selling a Rally for Jacksonville t-shirt on their Instagram @TheDailyRally and proceeds go to help the victims from the attack.

Blythe is a sports and entertainment broadcaster based in Jacksonville, Florida. When she’s not pumping out marketing how-to’s on Brumleve Brands, she’s covering sports and culture in the North Florida market and beyond.

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand
Livestream Software: Switcher Studios

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

The post Jaguars Preseason Recap + Looking For the Helpers appeared first on GuysGirl.

Jalen Ramsey was the number one trending topic this week both locally in the Jacksonville market and then again nationally when his interview in GQ was released.

For many fans nationally, the GQ article where he criticizes nearly every QB on the planet was the first time they’ve heard about the star CB for the Jaguars. But earlier in the week, Ramsey made local news by being suspended by the team presumably for remarks made to a local reporter.

As a bit of background, a practice fight broke out among a couple Jaguars players and when a reporter started filming the altercation, Ramsey stepped in and told him to stop filming.

After 11 consecutive padded practices, tempers flared during a #Jaguars team period Sunday and continued afterward when Dante Fowler and Yannick Ngakoue repeatedly had to be separated by teammates. https://t.co/8DtCN9kLBV pic.twitter.com/D9V6GhDC8h

— Phillip Heilman (@phillip_heilman) August 12, 2018

The same reporter posted the video later on to Twitter–which is where Ramsey took offense.

@phillip_heilman you know you done messed up right? Lol if y’all want war, we got sum for y’all. & Iknow the rest of y’all (you know who you are) gone read this too so just know #LameAssReporters

— Jalen Ramsey (@jalenramsey) August 12, 2018

For some fans who see these kinds of statements along with a tell-all GQ interview, it can uncomfortable. We haven’t had a vocal NFL player since Richard Sherman therefore it’s fair to say most NFL players tow the company line.  However, other athletes in other major sports like the NBA, being outspoken isn’t frowned upon—it’s encouraged.

Therefore it’s been interesting to see which fans hate this honesty from a star player and which fans get upset by it. If you fall into the latter category, I’d have a bit of advice: This is only the beginning.

Ramsey has always been an outspoken player and in today’s world of coach speak and PR crafted answers, you should appreciate an athlete who’s willing to put his honest opinions out there and not just own them—but double down on them after facing criticism.

We live in a world where fans still want players to shut up and play football. But athletes aren’t doing that anymore; nor should they be. They have the ability to speak their truths and you have every right to agree or disagree with him.

With all that said, I know I’m not alone in this thinking. And I know there are others who disagree with me. Which is why this was a major topic on this week’s Helmets and Heels show as well an interview I did with Andy Carlson of PurpleFTW, a Vikings blog.

You can listen to both of these discussions in a new podcast format found below. And if you’d like to watch the video portion of Andy and I’s interview, you can find that below as well.

Where do you stand on athletes being vocal? Do you love it or hate it? Send me a Tweet and share your own truths!

Blythe is a sports and entertainment broadcaster based in Jacksonville, Florida. When she’s not pumping out marketing how-to’s on Brumleve Brands, she’s covering sports and culture in the North Florida market and beyond.

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand
Livestream Software: Switcher Studios

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

The post Why I Love Jalen Ramsey’s Unapologetic Sass appeared first on GuysGirl.

A Super Bowl prediction may or may not have been mentioned….

UCF Jaguar was also kind enough to interview me on the very same day! You can check out my interview on his channel found here.

Blythe is a sports and entertainment broadcaster based in Jacksonville, Florida. When she’s not pumping out marketing how-to’s on Brumleve Brands, she’s covering sports and culture in the North Florida market and beyond.

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand
Livestream Software: Switcher Studios

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

The post UCF Jaguar Talks Biggest Story Lines Heading Into Jaguars 2018 Season appeared first on GuysGirl.

On one beautiful day in January of 2010, I was given the honor of landing, staying the night, and taking off from the nuclear aircraft carrier, The USS Harry S. Truman.

It was loud, it was big and it was a great eye-opener of how challenging a day to day life of a sailor truly is.

The entire group of visitors chosen to be a part of the Navy’s Distinguished Visitor Embark Program

The DV program is basically the Navy’s effort to raise awareness to civilians of the day to day work that goes into keeping this country safe. The program has existed for a while but only recently has the focused switched from inviting military retirees to inviting civilians with little to no military background (particularly women) and opening their eyes to day to day life as a sailor.

It consists of a group of about a dozen people from all walks of life, who fly onto an aircraft carrier that’s already out to sea, stay the night on board the ship, and take off from the carrier the next day.

In a nutshell, its a trip of a lifetime that a lucky few will never forget.

Before takeoff, everyone in the group is required to meet at the local base, NAS Jax, to prepare for takeoff of a normal flight.

If a “normal flight” includes signing a waiver that says “The United States Navy is not responsible for your death.”

We had all packed an overnight bag and were busy introducing ourselves to everyone in the group. You could tell by the looks of each of our faces that we were all feeling a bit anxious just at the thought of landing on an air craft carrier in the middle of the Atlantic.

After the check in process, the group of 11 of us were lead into a room where the CO of NAS JAX (the boss) greeted us and gave us a brief on the events that were about to take place.

The Coin Tradition

At the closing of brief, we were all given the first souvenir of our trip, the a coin that symbolizes great tradition in the Navy.

The front and back of the coin exchanged at NAS Jax

The coin is given through a handshake and you’re not to drop it during this critical first  transfer as it’s very bad luck.

The transfer of a symbolic coins is a tradition of CO’s and Admirals in the Navy.

Anytime you’re out at a restaurant/bar, you can look for the CO or Admiral that gave you the coin, should you spot him and produce your coin and he cannot produce his to match, the Admiral/CO must buy you a round of your favorite drink.

But if he does produce his coin, the tables are turned and you’re then forced to buy the round.

“You can bet I will always be able to produce my coin” said Admiral Alexander with a confident look on his face that wouldn’t dare challenge.

Taking Off From NAS Jax

After waiting in the holding area minutes that felt like hours, we were provided with helmets and life vests as a couple of the sailors started briefing us as to how the walkout to the plane, taking off and landing will all work.

Since the planes are so loud, most of this information was given in the lobby before the helmets are placed on. The plane we were about to take off on first flew in 1964 but from first glance, looked like the ‘bad ass’ out of the bunch with black flames painted on the nose of the aircraft.

Commercial flights will always look sub-par compared to the COD plane we were about to fly in

The C2 plane (aka COD- Carrier on Delivery) has only 2 windows, the seats face backward (which takes some getting to use on the equilibrium portion), has one ramp in the back, and is about the biggest ship that lands on an aircraft carrier.

Sorry, no bathrooms, peanuts or pillows provided. There is however overhead storage for the oxygen masks and life raft. Great confidence booster.

Boarding the COD Plane

The plane was a little leaky with oil falling on a couple of us. This might have scared some people off, but for some reason sitting on metal chairs with a helmet didn’t freak anyone out prior to takeoff. Which is always a good thing.

View from my seat facing towards the back of the plane. Big time effect on the equilibrium

The 80 mile some-what bumpy flight to the USS Truman took about 30 minutes; but due to a delay in landing, we had to circle the carrier for a nerve-racking 15 whole minutes.

Creating an immense about of stress for every minute that goes by, we circle the ship over and over again that only creates more turbulence with every go-round.

Couple this with the anticipation of landing and it was almost too much to bear.

That is until we heard the now infamous words:

“HERE WE GO, HERE WE GO”

“Oh sh*t  oh sh*t oh sh*t” is all that was going through my head. Turns out, when you have about 10 seconds to think, you start thinking about the scope of what’s about to happen here.

You see, I like my fair share of roller coasters. Actually, I can’t get enough of them.

But am I really about to land in the middle of an ocean on an aircraft carrier?! A NUCLEAR aircraft carrier. But before you have enough time to freak yourself out is when the landing takes place.

“Ok we’re lowering. We should land soon. You’ve got this”.

AND THEN YOU HEAR THE BIGGEST SNAP YOU’VE EVER HEARD IN YOUR LIFE AND IT JUST CAME FROM BELOW YOU.

DEAD. DEAD. DEAD.

Is all that crosses your mind before you realize you feel the ground of something.

One eye starts to slowly open and your fists have a little more color in those white-knuckles of yours when you realize this whole landing on an aircraft carrier just worked out to your benefit.

We Landed. And We’re Still Alive.

The back door of the plane, which we had been facing the whole time while we circled countless times, opens up to a bright white light.

When your eyes become adjusted, the vision of sailors, machinery, and the ocean all came into view.

The view you see from your seat on the plane when the back door opens up after landing on aircraft carrier.

We were taken from the plane, instructed not to take any pictures just yet (due to the immense danger) and to follow in a single file line up to a viewing tower where we were to meet the CO of the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).

They were waiting to greet us with big smiles on their faces. Both welcomed us to the Truman and prepared to brief us on what to expect during our visit and what he hoped we would take from this along with custom name tags, embroidered hats, and refreshments.

Too bad it wasn’t a stiff drink to help tame the nerves.

Commanding Officer gives us a rundown of what should expect after just landing on the aircraft carrier

In the hustle from going from the landing to the viewpoint, it’s tough to focus on what anyone was saying because of the jet’s noise decibel level as they were repeatedly taking off and landing while we were headed to “the Viewing Tower”.

In fact, reading lips was a heck of a lot easier than trying to hear a sailor standing less than a foot scream “GO THIS WAY”.

And as you are witnessing the jets landing from the tower, it suddenly hits you…”We just did that!”

Upon wrapping up the initial meet and greets is when the real tour started. We were given a trip itinerary in which it listed all the stops on the tour we’d be making.

Our first stop was a top tower viewpoint that included the Captain’s Chair that each of us was invited to sit in to take pictures.

Sitting in the Captain’s chair of the USS Harry S. Truman

How the Arresting Cable System Works for Landings

Remember the SNAP sound as the plane landed? It was this very next room that it was explained how the cable landing system worked that explained this feeling at the bottom of the plane.

There’s a 4 cable system on the ship that, ideally, every plane should hook onto the third cable in the line creating a perfect grade of A for landing.

Should you miss the 4th cable, the pilot must immediately plan for take-off to try again or start swimming.

But how do the pilots know where to land on the carrier while you are up in the sky? The radar system onboard the ship has a series of color coded lights that the pilot follows.

“The pilot will see different lights depending on the plane’s angle of approach. If the plane is right on target, the pilot will see an amber light, dubbed the “meatball,” in line with a row of green lights. If the amber light appears above the green lights, the plane is coming in too high; if the amber light appears below the green lights, the plane is coming in too low. If the plane is coming in way too low, the pilot will see red lights.”

(howstuffworks.com)

Our next stop was the incredibly impressive flight deck.

Jets taking off and landing, guys in different colored shirts running around, equipment being shuttled from one part of the ship to the other; it all seemed chaotic to a civilian but to the Navy, it’s just a large-scale but very controlled atmosphere.

Viewing the jets taking off and landing from the Flight Deck

Facts About the Flight Deck

The flight deck can be cleared in 7 minutes tops in case a plane needs to make an emergency landing or take off.

Planes take off from the carrier using a steam powered catapult system.

The planes can either take off or land in 45 second intervals

All sailors are aware of FOD (foreign object detector) Something as small as a nail can damage a plane’s engine.

Planes coming in land on the carrier at about 140mph and have to stop at under 4 seconds.

The Arresting Gear Room (where the cable machine is located) can catch 3 birds a minute and 6 different types of planes.

The cables are 1150 feet long and can hold up to 210,000 pounds of pressure. Only twice in 10 years has the cable ever snapped.

The Many Areas of the Ship

After the flight deck we were taken around to the different areas around the ship.

In the Primary Flight Control Room, the “Ouija board” is used to show the exact placement on the ship of all the planes and their status by using push pins, nuts and jacks (yes the same Jacks you played as a kid).

The exact location of all planes and jets are kept track of on this board

In the Hanger of the aircraft is where we got get up close and personal with the planes. It even included a gym and basketball hoop.

In the event of a fire or attack, the hanger can be separated into 3 different areas that can be completely sealed off from threats.

One of the planes that goes out regularly to test weather patterns in the area. “Only weather patterns”, I’m just sure of it.

The Ship Store was a favorite among all of us as we quickly grabbed more souvenirs but this time it was for family and friends. The ship store manager claimed the ship can do $30k-$45k a day in the store.

Though the store accepts cash, the sailors use a debit card on the ship to transfer money from their personal bank account into their “ship account”. This card is used all over, on and off the ship.

The ship store where you can find just about anything and pay for it with your own personal “ship card”

Of course any carrier is going to have weapons. While the weapons department could neither “confirm nor deny” the existence of a nuclear weapon on board they did however show us the extensive supply of bombs and missiles on board.

The big grey looking boxes are actually live missiles. We were pretty tired by this point in the day and turned to see what we were all sitting on, and it was actually a box of missiles. Fabulous!

Those big gray boxes back there? Oh. They’re just live missles.

Live bombs on board are kept 3 decks below water. Many of these bombs are interchangeable and depending on the configuration, can make an entirely new weapon.

All of the weapons on board the ship are tracked electronically as well as on paper.

The Navy strongly believes in this system because if electronics fail, they must have something to fall back on. These weapons are monitored 24/7 whether out to sea or at port.

Just a couple of live missiles wider than your torso. No big deal.

Naturally a ship that holds 5,500 people is going to need a lot of food. The lead Chef on the ship says the ship goes through 2,000 cookies a day, 13 cases of bread with 24 loafs in each case a week and about 8,000 pounds of chicken per week.

The chef’s work off of a 14 day recipe series cycle and try to keep food costs around $10 per person, per day.

The same recipes are used on all carriers so that the food stays consistent throughout the Navy. The food cost budget is increased around the holidays, along with most of the waistlines of American civilians.

The kitchen is constantly cooking for 23 hours of the day. The other hour is spent cleaning during “Happy Hour”.

No, not that kind of Happy Hour, its a special “Clean Everything” Happy Hour.

One of the Chefs onboard the Truman explaining that they go through about 2,000 cookies a day

The most comforting part of the ship happened to be the most welcoming. The Place of Worship.

In this church, all religions were welcome from Catholics, Jewish, Mormons, Muslims, Protestants. You name it, they allow you to worship it.

The Navy Chaplains in particular were the warmest and most welcoming people on the ship. They firmly believe in not being stuck in the place of worship, but being in the community of sailors and families.

Last year alone, they did over 6500 hours of community service.

The Chaplains on the ship are a major positive force for the sailors as they remind the sailors that there is a greater morality to life.

Some of the many items of worship Chaplains on board the ship use to accommodate any religion of choice

The History of  President Harry Truman

Perhaps one of the most interesting visits was the room dedicated to former president

Famous for the saying “Give Him Hell” which is plastered all over the ship, Truman’s response to his catchphrase was:

“I have never deliberately given anybody hell. I just tell the truth on the opposition and they think its hell”.

Unlike present day Congress (who receive the exact same pay and benefits even when they retire) Truman believed in old school politics.

Once his term was over, he never made a dime off public speeches or appearances. He merely wanted to quietly live out his life happy with his family.

Harry S. Truman’s infamous slogan that adorns the ship in almost every room.

Truman also helped to established the United Nations, the State of Israel, desegregated the military and made the call to drop the A-bomb twice in Japan.

The following is a picture of the original note he wrote giving the order to drop the bomb.

The hand-written order Truman made for the official order to drop the A-bombs in Japan.

The Truman also features a metal & wood shop, movie theater, full production studio, design & media for print and electronic marketing, radio production and many more items that could sustain a city on the water.

Trying to Sleep While Jets Are Landing Is a Little Tough

By the end of the first day, we were all pretty tired and anxious to go to bed. Lucky for us, we were staying in the “suites” on the ship which consisted of a bunk bed, one locker, one sink and 2 desks.

I had the honor of the top bunk and trying to figure out how to jump up and down from the bed brought memories of when my brother owned some bunk beds.

Except the Navy bed didn’t have a ladder. Guess that’s what the handle is for?

Where we slept is considered the “Suite of the Ship” as sailors normally sleep 6 bunk beds tall

The beds were quite comfortable (or I was just that tired) but as tired as I was, sleep was hard to come across as we were staying on the deck directly below jets that were practicing taking off and landing.

I will never complain about my neighbor starting his lawnmower at 9am on a Saturday ever again.

Interacting With the Sailors

The ultimate highlight of this trip was the simple interaction with the dedicated sailors.

Between the wonderful food at dinner, the chats with Chaplain Hinson and the inspirational words from , the breakfast with the sailors was the highlight of the trip.

They explained about their workdays (some being as long as 18 hours a day but always at least 12 hours), everyone works 7 days a week.

Our 2 rack bunk bed seemed like tight quarters, but when I heard of the 6 rack bunk system, I quickly stopped complaining.

They do have ways of winding down when they’re not working.

Sailors can work out at the seaside gym, watch TV, play video games and during important sporting events like the AFC & NFC Championship games, most of the TVs on the ship are all tuned in.

What struck me most during the breakfast chat with three female sailors is the positive light that seemed to beam from them.

They were so happy and really made you realize how lucky the American civilians really have it that such strong women were helping to lead this country.

If there was one thing I wish I could have done more on this trip is to interact more with the sailors.

Listening to one of the sailors talk about everyday life on board the Truman

The Final Briefing

At around 1pm, it was time for trip to come to a close. We participated in a final briefing by the CO where we were given another customary coin.

The front and back of the coin the Captain of the USS Harry S. Truman gave to everyone in the program

To go along with the coin, we were given a folder of documents on the history of the Truman, high level Captain bios, a Truman bio, a cd of all the pictures that were taken and even a printed picture of an aerial shot of the Truman and my personal favorite, a picture of our group with a jet landing in the background.

The entire group with a jet landing directly behind us

So after almost 5 miles walked during our tour and DOZENS of flights of stairs, it was time for the final briefing where we were handed our helmets and life vests.

The directions for taking off of the carrier came quick and we were told to “put our feet on the chair in front of us, cross our arms to hold onto the harness and duck our head down” during takeoff.

I was lucky enough to get a seat by the window this time but was too scared to look out of the window since we were faced backwards and the plane (faced opposite) was about to go 4G’s in 3 seconds.

While waiting for what seemed like an eternity, I was able to snap this picture a few minutes before we took off.

The scene from the scratched up window just before takeoff where we all experienced 4G’s in 3 seconds

Once we were all buckled in and give the all clear, we heard the infamous words “HERE WE GO, HERE WE GO”.

Taking off from an aircraft carrier can only be described as the best best roller coaster you will ever ride.

The takeoff is so quick you don’t have time to be scared until the plane feels like it drops 100 feet before feeling the plane catching the wind as it begins to fly normally.

As you feel the plane “catch” is the first moment you can let out a deep sigh of relief and become brave enough to peak out of the window to see nothing but beautiful blue skies and the never-ending ocean.

After the Trip of a Lifetime

After making it back to the airport, calling my family to tell the stories I have shared with you, this once in a lifetime trip really came into focus while I was driving home and saw the helicopters practicing by my home near Mayport Naval Base.

This is when I realized how many times we take our freedoms for granted.

“Most of us, most of the time live in blissful ignorance of what a small, elite, heroic group of Americans are doing something very dangerous…Right now, somewhere around the world, young men are landing high-performance jet aircraft on the pitching decks of aircraft carriers—AT NIGHT!

You can’t pay people to do that; they do it out of love of country, of adventure, of the challenge. We all benefit from it; and the very fact that we don’t think about it tells you how superbly they’re doing their job, living on the edge of danger so the rest of us need not think about, let alone experience, danger.”

-George Will

Nothing has given me a greater respect for our military than this trip. Saying this a thousand times is never enough but THANK YOU for all that you do!

Navy Distinguished Visitor Embark Group- January 25th-26th 2010

Navy’s Distinguished Visitor Embark Visit. January 2010

Special THANK YOU to Suzanne Speight for giving me this opportunity of a lifetime. I will forever be grateful.

In honor all POW’s and MIA’s, you are never far from our thoughts and prayers.

The table that is ALWAYS set for the POW and MIA reinstating that these people are not forgotten

This article was originally published in 2010.

The post Landing & Taking Off From a Nuclear Aircraft Carrier for Navy’s Distinguished Visitor Embark Program appeared first on GuysGirl.

The post Kentucky Derby: Everything you need for the fastest two minutes in sports appeared first on GuysGirl.

The modern day form of podcasting has been around since 2004 but only in recent years has the medium started to see significant audience growth.

In 2013, roughly 12 percent of the U.S. population listened to a podcast.

Flash forward to 2018, nearly 45 percent have hopped on the podcast bandwagon.

With more demand comes a greater need for hosts willing to put in the work to create a great podcast experience that keeps a listener coming back. The majority may share the entrepreneurial spirit but many podcasters feel like they’re all alone in a medium where most family and friends haven’t fully grasped. Hence why networking and the ability to brainstorm with fellow hosts has become a growing need all over the country.

That’s no longer a problem in Jacksonville.

This photo and the featured photo were both shot by Toni Smailagić, founder of Cre8Jax.

Hosted by Badr Milligan of ‘The Short Box’, Ryan Thompson of ‘GAAM’, and myself,  Jacksonville’s first podcasters networking + educational event was held at a creative spot dubbed Space 42.

If 10 people showed up, I feel confident in saying that’d be considered a success. I always liked smaller crowds, anyway.  But to our surprise, more than 30 Jacksonville podcasters showed up to the two-hour session with more hoping to attend in the future.

Niches such as sports, art, comics, music, and more were all represented as the group introduced their shows, discussed challenges, and endgame strategies. The plan is to discuss these topics in greater detail at future events to help us all grow together. A rising tide lifts all boats, as they say.

Key takeaways from the Jacksonville Podcaster’s Event

• Hosting accounts such as Buzzsprout and Libsyn can be great at getting your feed to other providers such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Play. They also have built-in analytics so you can track your audience metrics. I’ve personally used Buzzsprout for years and love the simplicity of it. Get a $20 Amazon gift card for giving them a shot.
• Promoting your podcast is just as important as the research and recording time you put into it. Think about where your listeners are at and problems they currently face. Search hashtags and Facebook groups around those topics and promote your show to that target audience. It’s perfectly acceptable to promote one show several times to a variety of social platforms and other distribution methods like email marketing.
• If marketing your podcast is a hassle, you can also use a free tool like Zapier to automate sharing. I recommend a mix of automation to a platform like Twitter and Facebook pages but if you’re posting to personal Instagram/Facebook profiles, you don’t want to annoy your audience with too much self promotion in a short time span.
• You can also experiment with marketing methods like sending your podcast audio to YouTube. Some episodes can get triple the engagement simply by using a visualizer that turns your audio file into a video file. Though I haven’t personally tried this method, a site like RenderForest can do this for you with both free and paid options.
• In need of audio + editing help? One of the meeting attendees can assist. Just hit his Twitter DM’s and set something up.

Jacksonville Podcaster Resources

• Jacksonville Podcasters Unite! Group Page via Facebook.
• Facebook Photo Gallery of the first event by Cre8Jax.
• Jacksonville Podcasters meeting attendees & their show/website link via Dropbox spreadsheet.
• NEXT EVENT: Should be scheduled in June/July. Be sure to join the Facebook Group to keep stay updated!

Not in the Jacksonville area?

Not a problem. You can always search for a podcasting networking group in your area but after each event, I’ll keep track of key takeaways to share as most of our challenges aren’t exclusive to the Jacksonville market.

More Stats

Infograph via Podcast Insights

The post Key takeaways from Jacksonville’s first podcast networking event appeared first on GuysGirl.

Josh Lambo talks about his first season with the Jaguars

There’s something about the Jaguars and kickers named Josh. 

Josh Lambo was kicking for the Chargers before he was waived in the beginning of the 2017 season. But when the Jaguars cut ties with longtime kicker, Jason Myers, Lambo was signed and quickly became a fan favorite.

Check out his BTS interview on ‘Helmets and Heels’ right before the team secured a playoff spot for the first time in a decade.

Blythe is a sports and entertainment broadcaster based in Jacksonville, Florida. When she’s not pumping out marketing how-to’s on Brumleve Brands, she’s covering sports and culture in the North Florida market and beyond. 

TIME STAMPS:

01:14- Being embraced by the Jaguars fan base
01:39- Kicker celebrations and playing against your former team
02:39- Differences in playing soccer vs. NFL
08:25– If the giant video boards are distracting
9:27- How Jag fans helped Lambo’s kicking during the 2017 season
10:53- How electric the team chemistry felt throughout the season
13:43- Lambo’s personal life to include music, fav spots in town and how he proposed to his girlfriend

 

Like this interview? Then you’ll loooooooove our interview with former Jags kicker Josh Scobee who touches on what it’s like to see this team go from blackouts to sellouts. 

 

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand
Livestream Software: Switcher Studios

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

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The post Josh Lambo talks about his first season with the Jaguars appeared first on GuysGirl.

JaxSports Council, a local organization responsible for bringing various sporting events to the city of Jacksonville, partners with Dupont Middle School to provide a sports career day showing kids in school the various options to work in sports. Kids from all over the city attend this career day but its lead by the group from 5000 Role Models.

Started in 1993 Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson was serving on the Miami-Dade School Board and noticed young minority boys were becoming at-risk for dropping out of school, incarcerated or entering the drug trade. To combat this trend, Wilson started 500 Role Models where adult male mentors were given the responsibility of helping to raise young boys into young men. The program received a ton of attention, even from former Presidents, that the name was changed to 5000 Role Models and has expanded to Duval County as well as Pinellas County.

Dressed in their signature suits and red ties, the boys who participate in 5000 Role Models are responsible for talking with each of the guests of career day and escorting kids from other schools around the room to answer questions about working sports.

While many of the tables have a traditional “Here is what we do in sports and why we do it” setup, I decided to flip the script by asking the kids about THEIR future job and career aspirations.

On the table, I setup my livestream video equipment along with a quick questionnaire asking the kids what they wanted their side hustle to be. After filling it out, they got mic’d up and talked into the camera about the fields they aspire to work in.

And it was a hit.

It wasn’t long before I had a group of the cutest girls on the planet showing me their YouTube page, talking about how they want to use the platform to fuel their dreams. Some of them started helping to film, mic up the other kids, and ask interview questions to the others coming through. The stories that they captured were one of the most inspiring days of my life and thinking about it again makes me emotional. Who’s cutting onions again?

Check out the video below, almost entirely shot by kids under the age of 15, to hear about their dreams and career aspirations. Hopefully, you’ll get some positive vibes from it and help to support the local companies in your area to do the same as 5000 Role Models.

The post Watch these kids answer the infamous ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ appeared first on GuysGirl.

Josh Scobee reflects on how winning has affected Jaguars fans + city

HOSTED BY: BLYTHE BRUMLEVE, LAUREN BROOKS, DONNA MURPHY

Photo: Logan Bowles 

Former Jaguars kicker and now avid fan Josh Scobee joined ‘Helmets and Heels’ to talk about what the team’s recent success means for the franchise, city and most importantly, the fans.

One of my first interactions with an NFL player was with Josh Scobee.

After running the GuysGirl blog for a couple years, I was given the chance to go on the field before a Jacksonville Jaguars home game. This was well before I ever worked at Void Magazine or 1010xl, therefore, the fan in me was screaming with joy at the thought of meeting some of my favorite players.

One of those players was Josh Scobee who — when I went to introduce myself — already knew my name based on the infamous #JaguarsTwitter. It was a top career moment for me because it was the first time I ever said to myself, “I think I got something here with this whole sports-blogging thing.” While that moment was huge for me personally, it’s just one of many things he’s done in the Jax community over the years making him an all time fan favorite.

More than a decade later, Scobee would retire a Jag and now finds himself watching along with the fans. And after Sunday’s big win, we decided to reach out to one of the few people who give the full perspective of what this season has meant.

Listen to Josh Scobee’s perspective via the video below starting around the 1:18:36 minute mark. 

It’s not said enough how much the Jaguars, Shad Khan, and the team has meant to the city of Jacksonville. So to hear from a former player on the impact it had on this fan base brought tears to my eyes.

There’s no doubting Sunday’s matchup against the Goliath that are the Patriots will be a tough one. And I know a lot of NFL fans are rooting for us all over the country as the bandwagon continues to pile up. But there is something special about this season that only the die hard fans can appreciate.

The interview is well worth a listen but if you’re into catching allllll the Jaguars feels, be sure to check out the rest of the show from start to finish via YouTube or podcast.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BIPIEalkoc4" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<script src="https://www.buzzsprout.com/38442/627196-josh-scobee-reflects-on-how-winning-has-affected-fans-city.js?player=small" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></script>

Blythe Brumleve, Lauren Brooks, and Donna Murphy host ‘Helmets and Heels’ live every Tuesday night from 7-9pm. As the first football radio show in the country to be hosted by women, the hosts discuss NFL, college football, Jacksonville Jaguars and the biggest sports stories from the weekend.

The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2018 divisional round of the NFL playoffs. But do the Jags stand a chance against the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game? We break all this down, debate bridal expos vs football games PLUS former Jags kicker Josh Scobee joins the show to talk kicking strategy and what the playoffs means for the city of Jax.

TIME STAMPS:

Intro – Recapping the big playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers which may or may not have included burning stuff
18:48 – Bridal Expo or Jaguars game?
38:38 – The changing narrative around Blake Bortles
58:32 – A Patriots fan gives insight on how the Jaguars can win
1:18:36 – Former Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee talks about what the team’s turnaround means for the city of Jax.
1:38:16 – Other NFL playoff matchups and football picks!

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What’s next for GuysGirl?

by Blythe Brumleve | Mar 11, 2019

The brand ‘GuysGirl’ was born a decade ago. But after some recent career decisions, I was left in a tough spot of what to do with the future of a blog that lead to a work from home career. I have a pretty good idea of where I want to go, but I also want to hear from you on the changes I have coming up.

Jaguars, Unsportsmanlike Behavior, Kareem Hunt, and Favorite Cities to Visit

by Blythe Brumleve | Dec 5, 2018

You would think the NFL would learn from past mistakes. But if their response to the latest domestic violence incident involving Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt is any indication, they haven’t learned a damn thing. 

Jessica Blaylock: Interview with Miami Marlins and Florida Panthers Sideline Reporter

by Blythe Brumleve | Nov 11, 2018

Jessica Blaylock was born and raised in Jacksonville, spent some time at sports radio station 1010XL before being promoted to the big leagues as FOX Sports sideline reporter for both the Miami Marlins and the Florida Panthers. Jessica was the first woman in sports...

Throw this whole Jaguars team in rice

by Blythe Brumleve | Oct 17, 2018

Sunday’s Jaguars-Cowboys game left much to be desired for fans in Jacksonville. So the ladies of Helmets and Heels have another therapeutic vent session asking where it all went wrong. Plus some fun discussions on Kawhi Leonard’s laugh and the most annoying sounds in the world. (not related) 

Jaguars get to 3-1 record and now face off against the undefeated Chiefs

by Blythe Brumleve | Oct 3, 2018

The Jaguars-Jets game resulted in Jacksonville finishing the first quarter of the season with a 3-1 record. But as the team strives to make winning consistently a thing, they head to Kansas City this weekend to face off against the undefeated Chiefs. 

Mackenzie Thirkill: Interview with Orlando Magic Sideline Reporter

by Blythe Brumleve | Sep 28, 2018

Mackenzie Thirkill is the sideline reporter for the Orlando Magic and like many of us, grew up loving sports. Listen as we chat with Mackenzie on her career in sports, broadcasting and how she continues to hustle.

Alyssa Lang: Interview with SEC Network Reporter

by Blythe Brumleve | Sep 26, 2018

SEC Network reporter Alyssa Lang spent quite a bit of time in Jacksonville, Florida covering the area’s sports teams.  In collaboration with Void Magazine, I interviewed Alyssa to get details on her life growing up as a sports fan, getting involved in sports media, and the challenges she faces in this ever-evolving industry.

Blake Bortles out-plays Tom Brady and looks to do the same against Blaine Gabbert

by Blythe Brumleve | Sep 19, 2018

If I told you a year ago, Blake Bortles would out-play Tom Brady in an AFC Championship rematch you would assume I was on some really good drugs. But I’m not! And Blake did! We recap his stellar performance and preview Blaine Gabbert making his return trip to Duval on this week’s show. 

The post Former Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee reflects on how winning has affected fans and the city appeared first on GuysGirl.

How I LiveStream My Radio Show

Livestreaming a radio show can be a bit of challenge. But I’ve been on a crusade to find a setup that creates a great experience for YouTube and Facebook audiences that compliments the radio shows you’re already producing.

It’s been a bit of a challenge but I believe I’ve found the perfect way to do it. Check out how I livestream my radio show so that it’s as good of an experience (or better) than listening to a traditional radio broadcast.

Blythe is a sports and entertainment broadcaster based in Jacksonville, Florida. When she’s not pumping out marketing how-to’s on Brumleve Brands, she’s covering sports and culture in the North Florida market and beyond. 

 

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand
Livestream Software: Switcher Studios

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

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Sports Fan Etiquette: When should you leave a game early?

Earlier this season the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the San Diego Chargers in OT in front of a half-empty stadium.

Why was the stadium half-empty? Because of fans leaving a game early when their team was only down by one score.

It left the ladies to debate on proper sports fan etiquette and when you should tune out or leave a game early.

Give it watch below…

Blythe is a sports and entertainment broadcaster based in Jacksonville, Florida. When she’s not pumping out marketing how-to’s on Brumleve Brands, she’s covering sports and culture in the North Florida market and beyond. 

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand
Livestream Software: Switcher Studios

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

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NFL’s Sky Cam Should Be First of Many Viewing Enhancements

A few weeks ago the NFL introduced a new viewing experience dubbed the Sky Cam which gives a view similar to what you would see in a game of Madden.

In case you’re not familiar with the view, here’s a sample:

We discussed the NFL’s use of Sky Cam from the last TNF.

Here are the best angles and shots from that game.pic.twitter.com/qlpMPgJJuN

— Head On A Swivel (@HOASPodcast) November 22, 2017

Because the internet is what it is, fan reaction has been mixed but I welcome the new angle and believe this is one of many tech upgrades the NFL should pursue.

As discussed on a recent segment of Helmets and Heels, the Sky Cam along with other viewing angles could enhance the watching experience for fans all over the globe. Imagine having a TV or mobile app where you could customize everything from the camera angle to the broadcaster of choice.

New cameras like the recently released Rylo could make this possibility happen sooner rather than later. Rylo along with other 360 cameras can capture a last-second game-winning field goal and not only get the shot of the kick but the entire crowd reaction.

As leagues try to figure out ways to upgrade the in-game and at-home viewing experience, adopting more tech like the Sky Cam only makes sense.

Here our full discussion below:

Blythe is a sports and entertainment broadcaster based in Jacksonville, Florida. When she’s not pumping out marketing how-to’s on Brumleve Brands, she’s covering sports and culture in the North Florida market and beyond. 

 

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand
Livestream Software: Switcher Studios

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

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Browns Fan Danny Catullo says “Our road to the Super Bowl starts today”

As a business owner who’s a sports fanatic, I love chatting with fellow fans who also run their own business. Someone who fits that profile and is doing extremely well is a gentleman by the name of Danny Catullo.

Danny is a 3rd generation butcher shop owner based in Youngstown, Ohio who owns Catullo Prime Meats and is CEO of Perishable Shipping Solutions. He’s also been called an insanely optimistic Browns fan who was kind enough to join us on 1010xl’s The Kickoff Show to talk about his fandom and the matchup.

Hear our interview with him covering his business, his shop creations like “Meat Panties” and how he feels about the Jaguars facing off against his beloved Browns.

To check out Danny’s selections that can be shipped right to your door, visit his website at Catullo Prime Meats. You can also give him a follow on Twitter @CatulloMeats.

<script src="https://www.buzzsprout.com/38442/597382-interview-with-optimistic-browns-fan-danny-catullo-who-says-our-road-to-the-super-bowl-starts-today.js?player=small" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></script>

TIME STAMPS:

54:11- BTS during a commercial break before Danny is brought on
1:02:40- When the live interview with Danny starts (better audio is available via the podcast link)
1:17:54- Glimpse of the infamous “Meat Panties”

 

Blythe is a sports and entertainment broadcaster based in Jacksonville, Florida. When she’s not pumping out marketing how-to’s on Brumleve Brands, she’s covering sports and culture in the North Florida market and beyond. 

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand
Livestream Software: Switcher Studios

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

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The post Browns Fan Danny Catullo: “Our road to the Super Bowl starts today” appeared first on GuysGirl.

Sports Proposals: Right or wrong following a World Series win?

We know a sports proposal in the middle of a game is tacky as hell. But what if you just won the World Series? Should you pop the question immediately following the biggest moment of your career? Or celebrate with your boys and pop the question later?

We discuss Houston Astros’ Carlos Correa and his decision to do just that following his Game 7 win in the latest episode of Helmets and Heels.

Blythe is a sports and entertainment broadcaster based in Jacksonville, Florida. When she’s not pumping out marketing how-to’s on Brumleve Brands, she’s covering sports and culture in the North Florida market and beyond. 

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand
Livestream Software: Switcher Studios

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

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The post Sports Proposals: Right or wrong following a World Series win? appeared first on GuysGirl.

Do Jag fans owe Dave Caldwell an apology?

During his tenure with the team, Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell has been heavily criticized for past draft selections and free agency pickups.

But after the Jags surprising 2017 start to the season—where playoffs are a strong possibility—is it time for Jag fans to apologize to Caldwell?

Short answer? Yes. Yes it is.

As I explained in the video, I believed all offseason and even leading into this season that Caldwell should have fired at the same time former head coach Gus Bradley was let go.

If you don't bring in Kaep, tank the season, get Caldwell outta here, throw a stack at Kirk Cousins and draft a QB in the first round.

— Blythe Brumleve (@blythebrum) August 18, 2017

But with a new(ish) head coach in Doug Marrone and Tom Coughlin’s leadership at the top, Caldwell is quietly exceeding expectations for both his past draft picks and free agency pickups.

Let’s look at the list:

• Blake Bortles and Luke Joeckel are the obvious bad picks at the top. And the entire 2013 draft class was a disaster…but that’s the case for most of the NFL that season.
• His picks since then? Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Fournette, Dante Fowler, Myles Jack, Telvin Smith, Yannick Ngakoue and Cam Robinson are all stars in this league. Allen Robinson would be on this list too if he wasn’t hurt.
• Free agent pickups: Malik Jackson, A.J. Bouye, Barry Church (though he said he came here for Coughlin) but hell even Jermy Parnell has seen improvement this season.

Yes, Caldwell missed on the most important position in football but he also helped to scout last year’s league MVP Matt Ryan and passed on Tim Tebow with the infamous ‘even if he’s released’.

Just halfway through one season with Doug Marrone scheming players to fit their talents, the Jaguars are poised to win the AFC South and have already accumulated their win total from the previous season—through the first 7 games.

I think it’s time for Jaguars fans, including myself, to apologize to Dave Caldwell.

I’m beginning to think I will owe dave caldwell an apology v soon

— Blythe Brumleve (@blythebrum) October 22, 2017

Blythe is a sports and entertainment broadcaster based in Jacksonville, Florida. When she’s not pumping out marketing how-to’s on Brumleve Brands, she’s covering sports and culture in the North Florida market and beyond. 

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand
Livestream Software: Switcher Studios

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

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Females talking routes with Laurie Fitzpatrick

Cam Newton made some news when he commented on “females talking routes” in a press conference. So we invited film reviewer Laurie Fitzpatrick on the show to talk just that.

‘Helmets and Heels’ radio show is a weekly sports and entertainment podcast hosted by women, for women and men alike.

Hosted by Blythe Brumleve, Lauren Brooks and Donna Murphy, the show airs locally in the North Florida market on station 1010xl/92.5FM and live-streamed on GuysGirl’s Facebook Page.

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

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Why a Blowout Should Be Part of Your Game Day Routine

As a woman who was born and raised in the south, I assumed summer frizzy hair was a curse we couldn’t escape from.

Until I discovered the power of a blowout.

Now, a blowout bar is concept new to the state of Florida and possibly your area too. It was just a year ago that Drybar picked my home city of Jacksonville to launch their new concept in the state. That concept was a cute salon that specializes in blowouts and style–no cuts or color allowed. Not only do they provide this as a service, but they also have a book ‘Guide to Good Hair for All‘ that teaches women how to give yourself a blowout at home.

I was invited to interview the founder of Drybar Allie Webb (super cool chick, btw) and after receiving a complimentary blowout, I now understand the power.

The thing about blowouts is that they incorporate little hacks such as rinsing with cold water and sectioning off your hair during a typical hair wash. When used together, these methods pay huge dividends to how heat and humidity affect your hair. Therefore when you get a blowout, your hairstyle will last considerably longer than if you didn’t use these hacks.

Here’s a fun video we did on the entire process:

Fast forward one year and I can say regular blowouts are now a thing for me. If I have a special event that I want my hair done-up for, I book an appointment. If I can’t make it into the salon, I can still use the tricks from the book.

I’ve become such a fan that Drybar Jacksonville asked me to come in and shoot a livestream based around game day hair where we did some fun giveaways and gave an inside look at the process and products used.

It’s a good thing too–because my game day hair used to be a hot mess.

Check it out below:

Hint: My cousin Casey is the featured stylist in this video and she gives a great breakdown of the products used and *why* she uses them. 

Now that you’ve got a good idea of the process and why a blowout is worth it, it’s time to book your first appointment!

I personally recommend booking at your closest Drybar but there are numerous salons popping up all over the country that specialize in blowouts.

Go forth young padawons and learn to harness the power of the blowout.

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

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How the Jacksonville IceMen plan to reestablish hockey culture down south

When I was 20 years old, I was like a lot of kids my age: free spirit with not a clue of what they wanted to do with their life.

So when I met a semi-pro hockey player, it was easy to pick up from the only town I’ve ever known, move around the country and create some spectacular stories from it.

Related: 9 Crazy stories from my days as a semi-pro hockey WAG

When I moved back home a few years later, I started this sports website but the hockey team we had had already folded.

Flash forward a few years and after becoming a regular in the Jacksonville sports media market, it was announced another hockey team would be coming to town.

It’s crazy how life comes full circle. So when Void Magazine approached me about doing a story for their annual Sports Issue, I jumped at the chance to highlight a sport that’s been close to my heart for years.

---

ABOUT THIS SHOW:

Jacksonville, Florida has been a home to the sport of hockey since 1964. And when a team from Evansville, Indiana was looking for a new home, Bob Ohrablo along with an ownership group in North Florida stepped in. Hear my interview with the team president on how to move a hockey team from Evansville, Indiana to Jacksonville, Florida that appears in the September Sports Issue of Void Magazine.

Jacksonville + hockey have a longer history than you think.

• The 1964 Rockets organization lasted nearly a decade before they were forced to cease operations.
• The Cleveland Barons moved their franchise to Jacksonville in 1973 but only lasted one full season.
• The inaugural Bullets organization formed in 1992, but was forced to fold in 1996. Why? Because another team known as the Lizard Kings (formally the Louisville Icehawks) moved to town before the start of the 1995 season. This marked the first and only time Jacksonville would be home to two professional hockey teams at once.
• The Jacksonville Barracudas are arguably the most successful hockey franchise in the city’s history; winning a WHA2 championship in just their second year back in 2002. The high wouldn’t last because the team eventually folded in 2008.

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

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NFL anthem protests, another Louisville basketball scandal plus more

Mixing politics with sports doesn’t come easily to all. Especially for our show because in all honesty, we’re not as versed in the political landscape as we are with the AFC South and SEC/ACC football.

But when the leader of the most powerful country in the world verbally attacks the players of a sport we love, we made it a priority to step outside of our comfort zone in hopes of furthering the conversation.

You can hear our full NFL anthem protest debate hot-linked in the video below along with the rest of the show to include another Louisville basketball scandal (ugh).

And if you’d like more information on the documentaries I mentioned covering criminal justice reform and police brutality, you can check them out below:

• Netflix’s ’13th’
  • Now available for free via YouTube
• PBS’ ‘Policing the Police‘

TIME STAMPS:

03:20– Can the Jaguars keep up their winning ways?
40:36– NFL Anthem Protests
1:01:33– Louisville involved in ANOTHER scandal

‘Helmets and Heels’ radio show is a weekly sports and entertainment podcast hosted by women, for women and men alike.

Hosted by Blythe Brumleve, Lauren Brooks and Donna Murphy, the show airs locally in the North Florida market on station 1010xl/92.5FM and live-streamed on GuysGirl’s Facebook Page.

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

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The post NFL anthem protests, another Louisville basketball scandal plus more on this week’s show appeared first on GuysGirl.

How I became obsessed with ‘Game of Thrones’

After the Jaguars football season was over, I decided to binge watch ‘Game of Thrones’ for the first time.

And ever since then, I’ve become completely obsessed with the franchise. Hear me document how I watched all 6 seasons in 17 days, what it was like to watch Season 7 and why I love this franchise— all on a recent episode of Helmets and Heels.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

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When I used to do a weekly livestream on sports/fan culture, I documented my reaction after watching all 6 seasons for the first time. You can check it out below starting around the 36:40-minute mark.

Apologies in advance for the mispronunciation of character names—I was still new to all this ok.

Since Season 7 is now over and I have to experience the painful ‘waiting until the the new season’ plight, here are some of my favorite YouTubers who give me the ‘Game of Thrones’ and in depth knowledge.

New Rockstars

Talking Thrones

Emergency Awesome

Nerd Soup

Alt Shift X

A Song of Ice and Fire- History and Lore

See anyone I didn’t mention? Send me a Tweet and let me know!

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What’s next for GuysGirl?

by Blythe Brumleve | Mar 11, 2019

The brand ‘GuysGirl’ was born a decade ago. But after some recent career decisions, I was left in a tough spot of what to do with the future of a blog that lead to a work from home career. I have a pretty good idea of where I want to go, but I also want to hear from you on the changes I have coming up.

Jaguars, Unsportsmanlike Behavior, Kareem Hunt, and Favorite Cities to Visit

by Blythe Brumleve | Dec 5, 2018

You would think the NFL would learn from past mistakes. But if their response to the latest domestic violence incident involving Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt is any indication, they haven’t learned a damn thing. 

Jessica Blaylock: Interview with Miami Marlins and Florida Panthers Sideline Reporter

by Blythe Brumleve | Nov 11, 2018

Jessica Blaylock was born and raised in Jacksonville, spent some time at sports radio station 1010XL before being promoted to the big leagues as FOX Sports sideline reporter for both the Miami Marlins and the Florida Panthers. Jessica was the first woman in sports...

Throw this whole Jaguars team in rice

by Blythe Brumleve | Oct 17, 2018

Sunday’s Jaguars-Cowboys game left much to be desired for fans in Jacksonville. So the ladies of Helmets and Heels have another therapeutic vent session asking where it all went wrong. Plus some fun discussions on Kawhi Leonard’s laugh and the most annoying sounds in the world. (not related) 

Jaguars get to 3-1 record and now face off against the undefeated Chiefs

by Blythe Brumleve | Oct 3, 2018

The Jaguars-Jets game resulted in Jacksonville finishing the first quarter of the season with a 3-1 record. But as the team strives to make winning consistently a thing, they head to Kansas City this weekend to face off against the undefeated Chiefs. 

Mackenzie Thirkill: Interview with Orlando Magic Sideline Reporter

by Blythe Brumleve | Sep 28, 2018

Mackenzie Thirkill is the sideline reporter for the Orlando Magic and like many of us, grew up loving sports. Listen as we chat with Mackenzie on her career in sports, broadcasting and how she continues to hustle.

Alyssa Lang: Interview with SEC Network Reporter

by Blythe Brumleve | Sep 26, 2018

SEC Network reporter Alyssa Lang spent quite a bit of time in Jacksonville, Florida covering the area’s sports teams.  In collaboration with Void Magazine, I interviewed Alyssa to get details on her life growing up as a sports fan, getting involved in sports media, and the challenges she faces in this ever-evolving industry.

Blake Bortles out-plays Tom Brady and looks to do the same against Blaine Gabbert

by Blythe Brumleve | Sep 19, 2018

If I told you a year ago, Blake Bortles would out-play Tom Brady in an AFC Championship rematch you would assume I was on some really good drugs. But I’m not! And Blake did! We recap his stellar performance and preview Blaine Gabbert making his return trip to Duval on this week’s show. 

The post How I became obsessed with ‘Game of Thrones’ appeared first on GuysGirl.

Is it ever OK for an NFL player to quit on the field?

The Jaguars defense and Ezekiel Elliott caught a lot of flack for presumably quitting on their team during a game. Is this ever acceptable? What happened to ‘play until the whistle’?

We debate this topic plus the season outlook for the Jaguars after getting crushed at home by the hated Titans, all-girls surf competition ‘Sisters of the Sea’, Tony Romo’s play calling abilities and more on this week’s show.

TIME STAMPS:

05:07- Jaguars season outlook
21:44- Web.com Tour Championship interview
39:25- Should NFL players quit on their team?
1:00:42– Tony Romo’s play calling abilities
1:07:33- Football picks of the week
1:16:02- BTS and on air interview with Samantha Ryan of ‘Sisters of the Sea’
1:49:28- Favorite Happy Hour spots in this week’s Local Treasures of North Florida

‘Helmets and Heels’ radio show is a weekly sports and entertainment podcast hosted by women, for women and men alike.

Hosted by Blythe Brumleve, Lauren Brooks and Donna Murphy, the show airs locally in the North Florida market on station 1010xl/92.5FM and live-streamed on GuysGirl’s Facebook Page.

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

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The post Is it ever OK for an NFL player to quit on the field? appeared first on GuysGirl.

Hurricane Irma tore through Jacksonville, Florida on the same day the Jaguars were facing off against the Houston Texans. Die hard Jag fans were rewarded with an incredible performance; winning 29-7.

The ladies of ‘Helmets and Heels’ react to the surprising outcome of the game, the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, and more in the world of sports on this week’s livestream.

Find out more about the #JaxAsOne campaign here.

 

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam
Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti
Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On
Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 
Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light
Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

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The post HURRICANE IRMA AFTERMATH AND YOUR UNDEFEATED JAGUARS ON ‘HELMETS AND HEELS’ appeared first on GuysGirl.

Blythe Brumleve, Lauren Brooks, and Donna Murphy host ‘Helmets and Heels’ live every Tuesday night from 7-9pm. As the first football radio show in the country to be hosted by women, the hosts discuss NFL, college football, Jacksonville Jaguars and the biggest sports stories from the weekend.

SPORTS WITHOUT CABLE: EQUIPMENT YOU’LL NEED

HD Antenna

Use this to get all your local channels in HD for FREE! There are several ranges from as low as 10 miles to 100 miles. I purchased the 50 mile HD Antenna for a one time cost of around $30. If you live in a more rural area, upgrade to a longer distance antenna or pair it with an outdoor version for maximum range.

Remember, this is a one time cost to get local channels for free in HD so if you feel the need, spruce for a better quality antenna that doesn’t require constant searching for a good feed.

PlayStation Vue

PlayStation Vue was my first foray into on-demand streaming packages. It works a lot like your standard cable packages only it’s an app available on most smart TV’s, Chromecast, Amazon Fire, etc…You download the app, and all of your channels like ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, etc…are found within the app.

I chose PlayStation Vue over other platforms in 2016 because of the price (around $35/month), no equipment necessary and the built-in DVR functionality.

YouTube TV + Chromecast

Similar to PlayStation Vue, this is a paid plan offering similar channels. I haven’t tried it but considering Google is the brains behind it, I’m sure it’s top-notch. If you’re using the YouTube app, you can easily mirror your phone or laptop to any TV in the house to broadcast directly from YouTube via Chromecast.

Chromecast is a tiny device that plugs into your TV’s HD port and has a one time cost of around $35 – $69.

I prefer using Chromecast plus the YouTube app on my phone because if I’m watching TV in the living room and want to switch to another room, it’s as easy as using your phone as the remote to pause, switch TV’s and pick up right where you left off.

YouTube TV will cost you about the same as PlayStation Vue and include a DVR feature for around $35 per month.

NFL RedZone

Since I’m a Jacksonville Jaguars season ticket holder, I’m allowed free access to the NFL’s RedZone channel and NFL Gamepass. In the past, only DIRECTV subscribers had access to the RedZone channel so this is another example of using your resources to cut costs.

If you’re not a season ticket holder, you won’t need a DIRECTV package to get RedZone. Simply pay for the few months of football season (around $70) and get all the NFL scoring action of the season. Best part? You don’t need one of their ugly satellites strapped to your property.

Amazon Prime + Fire TV Stick

Along with cutting the cord, I’m an avid Amazon shopper and made the switch to digital movies—which is a perfect fit with Amazon’s Fire TV Stick that includes Prime Video.

Starting in 2017, Amazon will also stream Thursday night NFL games to all Prime members. And since Thursday night games were the most difficult thing to stream in 2016, this is a massive improvement to ensure you don’t miss any NFL action.

Because I prefer testing several devices, I purchased both Chromecast and Fire Stick at the same time. In retrospect, I should have purchased one Chromecast device per TV because Amazon has a video app on most smart TV’s; making the Fire Stick somewhat worthless. It seems this is also the case for Chromecast as YouTube is available on most smart TVs and the same logic applies.

My advice is to pick one side and outfit all the household TV’s with the same brand so you can easily switch from room to room. The only reason I would pick Chromecast over Fire Stick is that I watch a lot of YouTube videos and it’s much easier to switch in and out of an app on my phone vs. using the Fire Stick browser.

2017 FOOTBALL SEASON PLANS

This football season, this is how I will consume my football content:

• YouTube TV- For out of market college football games and Monday Night Football.
• Amazon Prime- For Thursday Night Football
• HD Antenna- Area games such as the Jacksonville Jaguars and whatever college football games are on local channels.

*You can also find a lot of streams online available for free. But since I don’t want to get sued, Google how to get Kodi software on your Amazon Fire Stick. Or you can also use Google Chrome web browser to mirror a stream link to any Chromecast enabled device. Another alternative is to simply search Twitter for [game name + stream] from a Chrome desktop/laptop browser and then Chromecast it to your TV of choice.  

The post Sports Without Cable: How I cut the cord and still watched all the big games appeared first on GuysGirl.

Women are tasked with the impossible standards of being able to do it all and look good all at the same time. So during a debate on ‘Helmets and Heels,’ I was taken back by the reactions of my cohosts who frowned upon girls who wear makeup to the gym.

Now, wearing makeup isn’t a requirement. But 99 percent of my workouts occur on my lunch breaks during the week or while I’m out running errands. It wouldn’t cross my mind to wash my face and then take extra time to reapply just to go back to work. And I damn sure wouldn’t wash my face just to make a perfect stranger feel better about themselves. Call me crazy but I don’t typically think about what other people are doing while I’m lifting—I’m there to get a solid work out in and appreciate the aesthetics of the people around me in between reps.

But my cohosts were completely against women who wear makeup or felt the need to upgrade their own wardrobe because of how other women look. One of them even stated they would kick another woman off the treadmill because she didn’t think they were there to workout! Side note: I dare someone to kick me off a machine just because I have makeup on. 

You can hear our full debate in the video above and let us know on Twitter if what others look like at the gym affect your workout.

PS: Here’s the graphic I mentioned on the show. Feels appropriate 😉

???????? pic.twitter.com/Vw2fjESXEM

— GuysGirl (@GuysGirl) July 2, 2017

 

PRODUCTS USED/MENTIONED

Camera: Logitech HD Pro Webcam

Desktop Mic: Blue Yeti

Mobile Mic: Omnidirectional Easy Clip On

Head Phones: Sony Noise Canceling Headphones 

Lighting: Neewer 18in Divi Ring Light

Camera Tripod: Selfie Stick with Remote and Stand

*Though this article contains affiliate links, these are all products we have used for GuysGirl Media business, shows and content. We hope you find them helpful because we wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t!

YOUTUBE SUBSCRIBE

WORK WITH US

iTUNES SUBSCRIBE

STITCHER

The post Why is makeup shaming at the gym still a thing? appeared first on GuysGirl.