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FOR USE AS DESIRED
TEXANS MAKE DEBUT IN
MONDAY-NIGHT HALL OF FAME GAME; It’s a big week of NFL firsts – for the Texans, Osaka, STEVE SPURRIER, JOHN MADDEN, and the Hall of Fame Class of 2002. All those firsts – and the second-annual NFL Youth Football Summit – will converge this weekend as the NFL – the realigned NFL – kicks off its 2002 preseason schedule with two nationally televised games. The first (Saturday, ESPN, 10:00 PM ET) will be the first NFL game ever played in Osaka, Japan – a city of three million people on Osaka Bay in southern Japan. Osaka is the “sister city” of the hometown of one of the teams in Saturday’s American Bowl, the San Francisco 49ers, who take on the Washington Redskins. Both teams will wear an “Osaka 2002” patch. The game will be the 11th American Bowl played in Japan, the most in any country in the NFL’s international series that began in 1986. American football was introduced to Japan in 1934. Currently, approximately 600 teams play the game, an amount second only to that of the United States. Dallas Cowboys head coach DAVE CAMPO has said that “it is just a matter of time” until a Japanese-born player plays in the NFL. One of Campo’s coaching rivals in the NFL’s new NFC East Division, the Redskins’ Spurrier, will make his NFL head-coaching debut in the American Bowl. The former University of Florida coach, who compiled a 122-27-1 record with the Gators with his “Fun ‘n Gun” high-octane offense, ironically will be debuting against the team that drafted him No. 1 in 1967 as the nation’s Heisman Trophy winner. Spurrier played nine years at quarterback for the 49ers before finishing his career with Tampa Bay in 1976. The Japanese media is already reporting on Spurrier’s debut. A corps of them covered his first training-camp practice on July 23 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. “See you in Osaka,” said Spurrier in his Southern drawl. For the 49ers, playing in American Bowls has been good luck. Two of the times they did (in London in 1988 and Tokyo in 1989), they won Super Bowl championships. Thanks to the Osaka trip, the Redskins (31,612) and 49ers (31,598) rank first and second, respectively, in most air miles that will be traveled this year by NFL teams in preseason and regular season. “What you try to do is make the trip beneficial,” says San Francisco head coach STEVE MARIUCCI. Meanwhile, back in the States… It will be a big Hall of Fame weekend in the birthplace of pro football, Canton, Ohio. The expansion Houston Texans, the NFL’s 32nd team that has necessitated the league realigning into AFC and NFC conferences each with four four-team divisions (East, North, South and West), will play their first game ever – Monday night on national TV (ABC, 8:00 PM ET) against the New York Giants. And who better to analyze their debut than a man making his own “debut,” JOHN MADDEN, who will be covering his first game for ABC’s NFL Monday Night Football with partner AL MICHAELS. It will be a special weekend for Madden. On Friday, August 2, he will receive the PETE ROZELLE RADIO & TELEVISION AWARD from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The award recognizes “long-term exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football.” Then on Saturday, Madden will present DAVE CASPER, who he coached with the Oakland Raiders for five seasons (1974-78), at the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. The game Madden will cover has been nearly four years in the making for the Texans. They received their NFL franchise on October 6, 1998, and have been preparing for their on-field debut ever since. “From a coaching standpoint, the game gives you an idea of what you have to prepare for,” says Texans head coach DOM CAPERS. Sure to see some action will be the NFL’s 2002 No. 1 overall draft choice, Texans quarterback DAVID CARR. Capers is more than familiar with Carr’s counterpart with the Giants, quarterback KERRY COLLINS. The coach selected him as the first draft choice of the expansion Carolina Panthers in 1995, and together, they went to the NFC Championship game one year later. It is the first appearance for the Giants in a Hall of Fame Game since 1985, when they defeated another Houston team, the Oilers, 21-20. The AFC-NFC preseason matchup will take place 35 years to the day that an AFL team defeated an NFL club for the first time. On August 5, 1967, the Denver Broncos topped the Detroit Lions at the University of Denver Stadium 13-7. The site of the game Monday, Canton’s Fawcett Stadium, also will be – for the first time in 37 years -- the venue of the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies on Saturday. Attendance for the annual enshrinement in front of the Hall had grown so large – 11,000 with temporary bleachers – that officials decided to switch the affair to Fawcett, where the program was originally held in the first three years of the inductions (1963-65). “The ever-increasing popularity of the enshrinement ceremony created a demand for seats that was increasingly difficult to satisfy in our old location,” says Hall of Fame Executive Director JOHN BANKERT. “Fawcett Stadium provides us with a safe and comfortable way to respond to that need.” Canton’s annual 10-day “Hall of Fame Festival” brings in 700,000 visitors, creating a $10-12 million economic impact on the area. In fact, attendance at the Hall of Fame has increased in six of the past seven months of this year (other than January). A big part of those visitors this week will be from the Kelly Clan. One of the inductees of the Class of 2002 is former Buffalo Bills quarterback JIM KELLY, who is bringing more than 1,000 friends and family members to the ceremony. Kelly has reserved every room in two Akron hotels and still needed 50 more rooms in the Canton area. “I might be one of those players Hall of Fame officials tell, ‘You don’t have to come back every year,’” says Kelly. “I’m pumped, I’m excited. I hope Canton is ready for the Kellys.” Canton will open its arms to Kelly and his clan, and to this year’s other inductees – the family of the late GEORGE ALLEN, Casper, DAN HAMPTON and JOHN STALLWORTH. The enshrinement ceremony and the press conference preceding it will be streamed live on the Hall of Fame’s web site (www.profootballhof.com). The inductees will be ready, but maybe wary. “I’m looking forward to it, but I don’t know, emotionally, how I’m going to handle it,” says Stallworth. “I think I’m going to be macho and be a man and not shed any tears. But we’ll see.” In the midst of these festivities in Canton that honor football’s past will be the second-annual NFL Youth Football Summit that salutes the game’s future. The NFL has invited more than 150 coaches, administrators and supporters of youth and high school football to attend the summit that will include educational seminars and tips on how to help create better citizens and football players. “High school and youth football are the foundations of our game,” says NFL Commissioner PAUL TAGLIABUE. “This weekend is designed to recognize those coaches and administrators who are dedicated to developing that foundation and inspiring young people to excel both on and off the field.” New Hall of Fame inductee Kelly will speak at the summit about the importance of youth and high school coaches. LYNN SWANN (a 2001 Hall of Fame inductee), the recently appointed chair of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, will discuss the importance of sports and physical education for kids. Hall of Fame coach BILL WALSH, who directed the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl titles, will discuss football strategy. And former Minnesota Vikings head coach DENNIS GREEN will share his thoughts on successful football programs both on and off the field. Numerous other youth football subjects will be covered in the three-day seminar that takes place on August 1-3.
“…AND, NOW, TO PRESENT THE HONOR…” Almost as awaited as the identities of the Pro Football Hall of Fame class every year are the names of the “presenters” of those inductees on their special day. The Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2002 presenters:
* Represented by his son, Senator George Allen, Jr.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 AMERICAN BOWL – OSAKA, JAPAN SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS VS. WASHINGTON REDSKINS SERIES
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NOTES FIRST AMERICAN BOWL GAME IN OSAKA and 11TH overall in Japan (first 10 in Tokyo)……49ERS: Make eighth American Bowl appearance (4-3, last AB game was 24-21 win over Seattle in Vancouver on August 15, 1998)……QB JEFF GARCIA became first quarterback in team history to throw for 30-or-more TDs in consecutive seasons (32 in 2001, 31 in 2000). His 32 TD passes tied with BRETT FAVRE for 2nd in NFL (KURT WARNER, 36) last season. Garcia was named to People En Espanol’s “25 Most Beautiful People” list in offseason……G RON STONE joins team after 6 seasons as starter with NY Giants……RB JAMAL ROBERTSON plays first game since spending spring in NFL Europe League. Rushed for 792 yards and 8 touchdowns with Rhein Fire, earning league Offensive MVP honors……REDSKINS: Make second American Bowl appearance (17-15 loss to San Francisco in London on August 16, 1992)……AB marks debut of new Redskins head coach STEVE SPURRIER. In 12 years at the University of Florida, Spurrier compiled a 122-27-1 record and won the 1996 national championship. Former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator MARVIN LEWIS joins Washington as assistant head coach/defensive coordinator after 3 seasons with Ravens……Former Florida quarterbacks SHANE MATTHEWS and DANNY WUERFFEL also make Redskins debuts……RB STEPHEN DAVIS led NFC and set career-high with 1,432 rushing yards last season.
MONDAY, AUGUST 5 PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME GAME – CANTON, OHIO HOUSTON TEXANS VS. NEW YORK GIANTS SERIES
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NOTES GAME FEATURES debut of NFL’s 32nd franchise, Houston Texans……TEXANS: Head coach DOM CAPERS, who grew up in nearby Buffalo, Ohio (68 miles from Canton), is 1-0 in Hall of Fame Games as he led Carolina past Jacksonville 20-14 in 1995 HOF Game in first NFL contest for both franchises……Rookie QB DAVID CARR, first overall selection in 2002 NFL Draft, passed for 4,839 yards & 46 TDs last year at Fresno State……WR-KR-PR JERMAINE LEWIS scored on 84-yard KR-TD vs. Giants in Super Bowl XXXV. Ranked second in AFC in 2001 with 24.7 KR avg. & third in conference with 12.4 PR avg. Only active player who has led NFL in PR avg. twice (1997, 2000)… …DT GARY WALKER recorded 7.5 sacks last year with Jax. & was selected to first Pro Bowl……K KRIS BROWN tied for second among AFC kickers with 124 points & 30 FGs last season with Pitt……WR COREY BRADFORD had 3 receptions for 111 yards (37.0 avg.) & 1 TD in GB’s season finale vs. Giants.…… GIANTS: First HOF Game since 1985 (21-20 win vs. Houston Oilers)……DE MICHAEL STRAHAN set NFL record with 22.5 sacks last season……QB KERRY COLLINS set club records with 568 attempts and 327 completions in 2001. Has thrown every pass for Giants in past two seasons…… RB TIKI BARBER posted career-best 5.2 yards-per-carry in 2001 (865 yards) and a career-high 72 receptions, tying him for the team lead (Toomer)……WR AMANI TOOMER topped 1,000-yard receiving mark (1,054 yards) for third consecutive year in 2001, first Giant to accomplish feat since HOMER JONES (1966-68). First-round draft pick TEJEREMY SHOCKEY contends for starting job after national championship season at University of Miami. THIS
WEEK’S NFL SCHEDULE (AUGUST 3-5) Saturday, August 3 San Francisco vs. Washington in American Bowl at Osaka, Japan, 10:00 (ESPN) Monday, August 5 Houston vs. New York Giants in AFC-NFC Pro Football Hall of Fame Game at Canton, Ohio 8:00 (ABC)
NEXT WEEK’S NFL SCHEDULE (AUGUST 8-12)
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