ATLANTA -- One way to win a game is to let another team lose it. New Orleans Saints fans know this misery more than most. For years, the Saints seemingly invented ways to lose games they should have won. They were masters at the art of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. And some of the most heartbreaking losses came at the hands of the hated archrival Falcons.
On Sunday, Atlanta returned the favor.
To continue reading: http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2011/11/new_orleans_saints_win_as_atla.html
Monday, November 14, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
WALTER PAYTON REMEMBERED WITH HALL OF FAME TRAIL MARKER IN COLUMBIA
Before he became the NFL’s all time leading rusher. Before he won a Super Bowl ring. And before he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Walter Payton played the drums in his high school band in Columbia, Mississippi. He picked up an additional extra curricular activity at the beginning of his junior year when Coach Ralph Boston convinced him to join the football team. Abiding to Coach Boston’s suggestion, Payton literally ran into the history books and became one of the greatest and most admired athletes our country has ever seen. As a senior at Columbia High School, Payton turned down his only Division I scholarship offer to play for the University of Kansas, and instead chose to stay close to home and attend college at Jackson State, where he became teammates with future Hall of Famers Robert Brazile and Jackie Slater.
At Jackson State, Payton went on a record setting tear that would last throughout his football career. He rushed for an astounding 65 touchdowns during his college career and was named All American. Selected by the Chicago Bears as the 4th overall pick in the 1975 NFL Draft, Payton’s stock was much higher coming out of college than high school. Despite putting up league leading numbers, Payton’s Bears teams were mediocre for the majority of his pro career. Then in 1983 Mike Ditka was named head coach and improvements were made. With the program on the rise, the 1984 team went 10-6 and Payton broke Jim Brown’s all time NFL rushing record that season against the Saints on a crisp October afternoon at Soldier Field. The improvement was exponential the following year as the Bears capped the regular season with a 15-1 record before cruised through the playoffs and crushed the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl 46-10. However, the win was bittersweet for Payton. In a coaching decision he still expresses deep regret for, Ditka elected to give the ball to William "Refrigerator" Perry on a goal line touchdown run, denying Payton his best Super Bowl scoring opportunity.
Payton retired after the Bears 1987 playoff season concluding an amazing 12 year career in which he was named to the Pro Bowl nine times. He had only missed one game during his whole NFL career. Payton’s endurance and physical dominance over opponents were due largely to his grueling off season training workouts. In what left many invited NFL player workout guests losing their lunch, Payton spent the off season running up enormously steep rock-filled hills that he had searched and found both in Mississippi and Illinois.
As expected, Payton’s final football destination was the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. He was elected as a first ballot Hall of Famer in 1993. In what was of the most memorable and emotional inductions speeches ever, Payton’s young son, Jarrett, who would later star at the University of Miami, introduced his father in a way that moved Payton to tears. Standing behind the microphone n his newly yellow Hall of Fame Jacket and speaking with a trembling voice, Payton accepted defeat to his over the bet they had about which one would cry first.
Even though Sweetness is no longer with us, his career came full circle last Tuesday. The Pro Football Hall of Fame made a road trip from Canton to Columbia to unveil a trail marker plaque honoring Payton in his hometown. I learned about this event from a coworker who had mentioned she was attending. My coworker, Mrs. Barbara
Rooks-Jackson, received both her Bachelor and Master’s degrees from Jackson State, where she was a student from the late 60's through the early 70's. She is as strong a JSU supporter as you are going to find and taught there for a few years as well. And although she claims to have only been an "inactive" member of the J-Setter Dance Team, her dance moves tell otherwise.
Barbara is also very close friends with the Payton Family and had made plans to ride to Columbia with Walter Payton’s sister and niece, along with another close family friend. After following back up with Barbara and pressing her for more details, she spoke with Payton’s mother, Mrs. Alyne Payton, and I was graciously invited to attend as well. I still had a conflicting event on Tuesday afternoon and wasn’t sure I could make it, but on the way to work that morning a truck pulled out in front of me out of nowhere that had a bumper sticker on it which read "NFL Alum" on it with a miniature football image between the two words. So, I took that as a sign to make honoring Walter Payton my first priority for the day.
The road from the Coast to Columbia, as do all roads, regardless of your starting point and destination, goes through Hattiesburg. From the main exit off of the great Highway 59 bypass, you can either go east on Hardy Street towards the University of Southern Mississippi Campus, or go west on Highway 98 towards Columbia traveling for about five to seven miles through the newly developed Oak Grove community of upscale strip malls, trendy chain restaurants and hotels. At the last major intersection in Oak Grove you can turn left and it will lead you to the double decker Oak Grove Warriors football stadium, which I will put up against any high school stadium they have in Texas. Prior to this football season, this is where an ESPN crew had been camped out each August on the Brett Favre retirement report for what seemed like a full decade. Throwing passes to high school kids on this football field had become a preseason ritual for #4 to determine whether he had the desire and ability to go another season. Consequently, the Oak Grove Warriors have developed a strong track record of churning out some pretty good wide receivers, including the late Steve McNair’s son, Steve McNair Jr.
The remaining estimated 25 mile stretch of four lane highway before you get to Columbia is filled with timber plots, pastures, gas stations and churches. As I crossed from Lamar County into Marion County on this picture-perfect fall afternoon, I found it very ironic that somebody who became the best at what he did by sticking his helmet into the chest of much larger defenders, and barreling over them on brutal, chilly Sunday afternoons in one of our nation’s largest most condensed cities had come from such a rural, peaceful setting. Running up those hills in the off season obviously had a lot to do with it.
For the past week the focus of the whole sports world seemed to be on what was scheduled to happen on Saturday in Tuscaloosa as the #1 ranked LSU Fighting Tigers were coming into T-Town to take on the #2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. It had been hyped as the game of the century and the media coverage rivaled even that of the Super Bowl. From what I understand, Bryant-Denny Stadium holds a maximum of 100,000 fans while the City of Tuscaloosa was expecting an excess of 160,000 visitors.
There are a projected 6 first round NFL draft picks between the Tigers and Crimson Tide. It is unlikely that any of them will come close to matching the type of Pro Career that Payton had (Alabama's Trent Richardson will definitely turn some heads though). The eyes of our football crazed nation may have all been on the scene in Tuscaloosa, which obviously has an incredible football history, but as I was driving it also dawned on me that the birthplace of arguably the greatest running back of all time was just as significant. And when I finally reached the Columbia City Limits, I knew I was in Pigskin Holy Land.
The ceremony took place at the Charles L. Boston Athletic Facility named after Payton’s high school coach who is responsible for jumpstarting Payton's football career. The building sits next to the Columbia High School football stadium located across the street from the school itself behind a city park in the middle of town. As I turned off of Columbia’s main thoroughfare, Broad Street, past the park and towards the football stadium, I could see that the locals had beaten the Hall of Fame in creating a hometown tribute to Payton. In the south endzone, where Payton ran for so many touchdowns, stood a statue that had to be none other than Sweetness himself.
While turning into what appeared to be the practice field to park, two fellows who had obviously just parked themselves were crossing the street. One was athletic build who I recognized immediately from his playing days with the Miami Hurricanes to be Jarrett Payton. He had his hand turned up towards me, but I could not tell if he was waving, or thought I was getting ready to run him over.
Once inside I found Barbara and she immediately started enthusiastically introducing me around to Payton’s many family members. It was a special treat getting to meet Payton’s mother, Mrs. Alyne Payton. At my senior year of high school football banquet held at the end in the fall of 1989 she was recognized having come as the guest of one of my teammates. When I mentioned that fact to Barbara after meeting Ms. Payton, she asked who my teammate was and I said "Gary Wiley." A few minutes earlier I had met the other family friend that had driven down with Barbara and Payton’s sister and niece. We both acknowledged that each other looked familiar but could not place where we had met. Barbara then called the same lady back over for a reintroduction and I found out that it was Gary’s mother. So, I caught up on Gary and was glad to learn that he was living in Raleigh and refereeing Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference college football games in the Virginia and North Carolina area.
In addition to the many Payton family members in attendance, the audience also included his high school teammates and Coach Boston. Bob Hill, his head coach at Jackson State, was also there and was recognized. Sitting in the very back, divided up into three different seating areas, were the three local high school football teams. Current players from Payton’s alma mater, the Columbia Wildcats, were sitting next to their two fierce county rivals, the East Marion Eagles and West Marion Trojans. As the purpose of the event, was to help honor the connection between Payton’s hometown roots and his athletic success, I thought it was very fitting that the area high school players who were actually currently going through the high school football competitive experience were invited.
A representative from the Hall of Fame spoke first followed by Walter’s older brother Eddie Payton, who spoke on behalf of the family. Eddie is the current Jackson State Golf Coach and is a well known local public figure. He also had his own professional football career that preceded Walter’s, returning punts and kickoffs in the NFL for six years before finishing with the Minnesota Vikings in 1982. Eddie made the deliberate attempt to speak as if he was his late younger brother standing before them. He gave much credit to his parents for the discipline that they instilled, stating that they followed the Golden Rule precisely "Spare the Rod Spoil the Child" to which the whole erupted in laughter.
With his mother and Walter’s Widow, Connie, standing beside him, Jarrett also addressed the crowd. It was his first trip to Columbia since he was a toddler and he apologized for the way he may have acted during his previous visit. It was also obvious that revisiting his father’s hometown and connecting to his Mississippi roots was very meaningful to him and this time it was Jarrett holding back tears during a Hall of Fame speech. Glancing at his mother and then back at the crowd, he spoke of his high admiration for his father and that it was his character much more than his football ability that stands out in his memory about him.
The cover draping over the plaque was finally removed and as expected individuals came up to get a closer look at it and take their own pictures. Its permanent placement location within Columbia has not been decided on yet. A small reception held afterwards in a side room while a Walter Payton highlight reel video played on the TV. Eddie had recognized a friend and member of the Jackson State Community during his speech named James Hartsfield. Barbara introduced us during the ceremony. We shook hands and he looked me in the eyes and said, "Do you remember me?" His face definitely looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite place him.
He quickly followed up and said, "I refereed your sister’s basketball games." Then said something that really shocked me, "Your sister was a hell of a basketball player!" While my sister, Cleta, did get her fair share of playing time, I really didn’t think her hoops performance was so exceptional to warrant that kind of praise, and I am confident she would tell you that too. But, James who told me he refereed for 23 years, would be a far better judge of basketball skills than myself, so I will refer to him and give Cleta her due for being "one hell of a basketball player."
James was an institution as a basketball official calling games between St. Richard’s, my elementary and junior high school, against our conference rivals St. Mary’s, St. Therese, Holy Family, St. Andrew’s and the Mississippi School for the Deaf. I also learned from Barbara that when she was a freshman, James was the punter for Jackson State football team. Because of his ability to boot the ball, his nicname was "The Golden Toe" or sometimes just "Toe" for short.
The crowd also ventured out during the reception to the football field to get a closer look at Payton’s south end zone statue which was sculpted by a local artist. Dressed in helmet and shoulder pads, with the #34 printed in the middle of his jersey, he carried the ball in his right hand in permanent stutter step form. While waiting my turn to get closer and take a picture, I overhead Bob Hill, a big man with a big personality, tell a story about recruiting Payton to a few people standing around him.
This part of the story was left untold, but obviously when Payton was coming out of high school in the early 1970's, sports integration in the South was still in its transitional stages, and the recruitment of black athletes by Southeastern Conference and other Division I southern schools was not widespread. Hill was at one of Payton’s games along with a handful of white coaches from much larger universities. While I didn’t quite catch what type of celebratory gesture Payton had made after big play, the other coaches were turned off by it and started commenting and writing notes that he was a troublemaker. At that point, Hill said "he put the word out" adding to their concerns about Payton in hopes they would back off from recruiting him. Hill’s story drew large laughs from the small group gathered around him and I thought it was hilarious too.
Never discount a young kid playing the drums . . . . . . .
- Win
At Jackson State, Payton went on a record setting tear that would last throughout his football career. He rushed for an astounding 65 touchdowns during his college career and was named All American. Selected by the Chicago Bears as the 4th overall pick in the 1975 NFL Draft, Payton’s stock was much higher coming out of college than high school. Despite putting up league leading numbers, Payton’s Bears teams were mediocre for the majority of his pro career. Then in 1983 Mike Ditka was named head coach and improvements were made. With the program on the rise, the 1984 team went 10-6 and Payton broke Jim Brown’s all time NFL rushing record that season against the Saints on a crisp October afternoon at Soldier Field. The improvement was exponential the following year as the Bears capped the regular season with a 15-1 record before cruised through the playoffs and crushed the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl 46-10. However, the win was bittersweet for Payton. In a coaching decision he still expresses deep regret for, Ditka elected to give the ball to William "Refrigerator" Perry on a goal line touchdown run, denying Payton his best Super Bowl scoring opportunity.
Payton retired after the Bears 1987 playoff season concluding an amazing 12 year career in which he was named to the Pro Bowl nine times. He had only missed one game during his whole NFL career. Payton’s endurance and physical dominance over opponents were due largely to his grueling off season training workouts. In what left many invited NFL player workout guests losing their lunch, Payton spent the off season running up enormously steep rock-filled hills that he had searched and found both in Mississippi and Illinois.
As expected, Payton’s final football destination was the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. He was elected as a first ballot Hall of Famer in 1993. In what was of the most memorable and emotional inductions speeches ever, Payton’s young son, Jarrett, who would later star at the University of Miami, introduced his father in a way that moved Payton to tears. Standing behind the microphone n his newly yellow Hall of Fame Jacket and speaking with a trembling voice, Payton accepted defeat to his over the bet they had about which one would cry first.
Even though Sweetness is no longer with us, his career came full circle last Tuesday. The Pro Football Hall of Fame made a road trip from Canton to Columbia to unveil a trail marker plaque honoring Payton in his hometown. I learned about this event from a coworker who had mentioned she was attending. My coworker, Mrs. Barbara
Rooks-Jackson, received both her Bachelor and Master’s degrees from Jackson State, where she was a student from the late 60's through the early 70's. She is as strong a JSU supporter as you are going to find and taught there for a few years as well. And although she claims to have only been an "inactive" member of the J-Setter Dance Team, her dance moves tell otherwise.
Barbara is also very close friends with the Payton Family and had made plans to ride to Columbia with Walter Payton’s sister and niece, along with another close family friend. After following back up with Barbara and pressing her for more details, she spoke with Payton’s mother, Mrs. Alyne Payton, and I was graciously invited to attend as well. I still had a conflicting event on Tuesday afternoon and wasn’t sure I could make it, but on the way to work that morning a truck pulled out in front of me out of nowhere that had a bumper sticker on it which read "NFL Alum" on it with a miniature football image between the two words. So, I took that as a sign to make honoring Walter Payton my first priority for the day.
The road from the Coast to Columbia, as do all roads, regardless of your starting point and destination, goes through Hattiesburg. From the main exit off of the great Highway 59 bypass, you can either go east on Hardy Street towards the University of Southern Mississippi Campus, or go west on Highway 98 towards Columbia traveling for about five to seven miles through the newly developed Oak Grove community of upscale strip malls, trendy chain restaurants and hotels. At the last major intersection in Oak Grove you can turn left and it will lead you to the double decker Oak Grove Warriors football stadium, which I will put up against any high school stadium they have in Texas. Prior to this football season, this is where an ESPN crew had been camped out each August on the Brett Favre retirement report for what seemed like a full decade. Throwing passes to high school kids on this football field had become a preseason ritual for #4 to determine whether he had the desire and ability to go another season. Consequently, the Oak Grove Warriors have developed a strong track record of churning out some pretty good wide receivers, including the late Steve McNair’s son, Steve McNair Jr.
The remaining estimated 25 mile stretch of four lane highway before you get to Columbia is filled with timber plots, pastures, gas stations and churches. As I crossed from Lamar County into Marion County on this picture-perfect fall afternoon, I found it very ironic that somebody who became the best at what he did by sticking his helmet into the chest of much larger defenders, and barreling over them on brutal, chilly Sunday afternoons in one of our nation’s largest most condensed cities had come from such a rural, peaceful setting. Running up those hills in the off season obviously had a lot to do with it.
For the past week the focus of the whole sports world seemed to be on what was scheduled to happen on Saturday in Tuscaloosa as the #1 ranked LSU Fighting Tigers were coming into T-Town to take on the #2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. It had been hyped as the game of the century and the media coverage rivaled even that of the Super Bowl. From what I understand, Bryant-Denny Stadium holds a maximum of 100,000 fans while the City of Tuscaloosa was expecting an excess of 160,000 visitors.
There are a projected 6 first round NFL draft picks between the Tigers and Crimson Tide. It is unlikely that any of them will come close to matching the type of Pro Career that Payton had (Alabama's Trent Richardson will definitely turn some heads though). The eyes of our football crazed nation may have all been on the scene in Tuscaloosa, which obviously has an incredible football history, but as I was driving it also dawned on me that the birthplace of arguably the greatest running back of all time was just as significant. And when I finally reached the Columbia City Limits, I knew I was in Pigskin Holy Land.
The ceremony took place at the Charles L. Boston Athletic Facility named after Payton’s high school coach who is responsible for jumpstarting Payton's football career. The building sits next to the Columbia High School football stadium located across the street from the school itself behind a city park in the middle of town. As I turned off of Columbia’s main thoroughfare, Broad Street, past the park and towards the football stadium, I could see that the locals had beaten the Hall of Fame in creating a hometown tribute to Payton. In the south endzone, where Payton ran for so many touchdowns, stood a statue that had to be none other than Sweetness himself.
While turning into what appeared to be the practice field to park, two fellows who had obviously just parked themselves were crossing the street. One was athletic build who I recognized immediately from his playing days with the Miami Hurricanes to be Jarrett Payton. He had his hand turned up towards me, but I could not tell if he was waving, or thought I was getting ready to run him over.
Once inside I found Barbara and she immediately started enthusiastically introducing me around to Payton’s many family members. It was a special treat getting to meet Payton’s mother, Mrs. Alyne Payton. At my senior year of high school football banquet held at the end in the fall of 1989 she was recognized having come as the guest of one of my teammates. When I mentioned that fact to Barbara after meeting Ms. Payton, she asked who my teammate was and I said "Gary Wiley." A few minutes earlier I had met the other family friend that had driven down with Barbara and Payton’s sister and niece. We both acknowledged that each other looked familiar but could not place where we had met. Barbara then called the same lady back over for a reintroduction and I found out that it was Gary’s mother. So, I caught up on Gary and was glad to learn that he was living in Raleigh and refereeing Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference college football games in the Virginia and North Carolina area.
In addition to the many Payton family members in attendance, the audience also included his high school teammates and Coach Boston. Bob Hill, his head coach at Jackson State, was also there and was recognized. Sitting in the very back, divided up into three different seating areas, were the three local high school football teams. Current players from Payton’s alma mater, the Columbia Wildcats, were sitting next to their two fierce county rivals, the East Marion Eagles and West Marion Trojans. As the purpose of the event, was to help honor the connection between Payton’s hometown roots and his athletic success, I thought it was very fitting that the area high school players who were actually currently going through the high school football competitive experience were invited.
A representative from the Hall of Fame spoke first followed by Walter’s older brother Eddie Payton, who spoke on behalf of the family. Eddie is the current Jackson State Golf Coach and is a well known local public figure. He also had his own professional football career that preceded Walter’s, returning punts and kickoffs in the NFL for six years before finishing with the Minnesota Vikings in 1982. Eddie made the deliberate attempt to speak as if he was his late younger brother standing before them. He gave much credit to his parents for the discipline that they instilled, stating that they followed the Golden Rule precisely "Spare the Rod Spoil the Child" to which the whole erupted in laughter.
With his mother and Walter’s Widow, Connie, standing beside him, Jarrett also addressed the crowd. It was his first trip to Columbia since he was a toddler and he apologized for the way he may have acted during his previous visit. It was also obvious that revisiting his father’s hometown and connecting to his Mississippi roots was very meaningful to him and this time it was Jarrett holding back tears during a Hall of Fame speech. Glancing at his mother and then back at the crowd, he spoke of his high admiration for his father and that it was his character much more than his football ability that stands out in his memory about him.
The cover draping over the plaque was finally removed and as expected individuals came up to get a closer look at it and take their own pictures. Its permanent placement location within Columbia has not been decided on yet. A small reception held afterwards in a side room while a Walter Payton highlight reel video played on the TV. Eddie had recognized a friend and member of the Jackson State Community during his speech named James Hartsfield. Barbara introduced us during the ceremony. We shook hands and he looked me in the eyes and said, "Do you remember me?" His face definitely looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite place him.
He quickly followed up and said, "I refereed your sister’s basketball games." Then said something that really shocked me, "Your sister was a hell of a basketball player!" While my sister, Cleta, did get her fair share of playing time, I really didn’t think her hoops performance was so exceptional to warrant that kind of praise, and I am confident she would tell you that too. But, James who told me he refereed for 23 years, would be a far better judge of basketball skills than myself, so I will refer to him and give Cleta her due for being "one hell of a basketball player."
James was an institution as a basketball official calling games between St. Richard’s, my elementary and junior high school, against our conference rivals St. Mary’s, St. Therese, Holy Family, St. Andrew’s and the Mississippi School for the Deaf. I also learned from Barbara that when she was a freshman, James was the punter for Jackson State football team. Because of his ability to boot the ball, his nicname was "The Golden Toe" or sometimes just "Toe" for short.
The crowd also ventured out during the reception to the football field to get a closer look at Payton’s south end zone statue which was sculpted by a local artist. Dressed in helmet and shoulder pads, with the #34 printed in the middle of his jersey, he carried the ball in his right hand in permanent stutter step form. While waiting my turn to get closer and take a picture, I overhead Bob Hill, a big man with a big personality, tell a story about recruiting Payton to a few people standing around him.
This part of the story was left untold, but obviously when Payton was coming out of high school in the early 1970's, sports integration in the South was still in its transitional stages, and the recruitment of black athletes by Southeastern Conference and other Division I southern schools was not widespread. Hill was at one of Payton’s games along with a handful of white coaches from much larger universities. While I didn’t quite catch what type of celebratory gesture Payton had made after big play, the other coaches were turned off by it and started commenting and writing notes that he was a troublemaker. At that point, Hill said "he put the word out" adding to their concerns about Payton in hopes they would back off from recruiting him. Hill’s story drew large laughs from the small group gathered around him and I thought it was hilarious too.
Never discount a young kid playing the drums . . . . . . .
- Win
SCHIZOPHRENIC SAINTS
The Saints responded to what many pundits have referred to as the poorest performance of the Sean Payton era in last week's 31-21 loss to the pitiful St. Louis Rams, by settling the score with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a 27-16 victory in what was a very complete performance. Great article from Clarion Ledger columnist Rick Cleveland on this pattern of inconsistency that the Saints have displayed this season, especially in the last four weeks:
Will the real New Orleans Saints please stand up?
Are they the New Orleans Saints who controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball in Sunday's 27-16 conquest of the Tampa Bay Bucs?
Or are they the Saints who sleepwalked through a 31-21 trouncing at the hands of the previously winless St. Louis Rams the previous Sunday?
To continue reading: http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20111107/COL0504/111070329/Uneven-outings-make-New-Orleans-hard-figure?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Sports
Uneven outings make New Orleans hard to figure
NEW ORLEANS — You watch these New Orleans Saints play every Sunday and there comes a time when you want to steal a line from the old What's My Line? game show hosts:Will the real New Orleans Saints please stand up?
Are they the New Orleans Saints who controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball in Sunday's 27-16 conquest of the Tampa Bay Bucs?
Or are they the Saints who sleepwalked through a 31-21 trouncing at the hands of the previously winless St. Louis Rams the previous Sunday?
To continue reading: http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20111107/COL0504/111070329/Uneven-outings-make-New-Orleans-hard-figure?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Sports
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