NFL FanHouse

CFL Uses Lenny Kravitz to Deliver a Message to Roger Goodell

David J. Warner — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 23:42:00 EST

Filed under: NFL Media Watch, Toronto, International Football

You might have noticed a lot of chatter lately about the possibility of an NFL team moving to Toronto -- and how many believe that an NFL team in Toronto might end up killing the Canadian Football League. Well, CFL officials quietly let everyone know their stance on an NFL team in Toronto -- by hiring Lenny Kravitz to perform at the Grey Cup Final halftime show on Sunday.

This had me scratching my head when I heard about it. After all, Kravitz is definitely not Canadian, not to mention hasn't been particularly relevant since the 1990s. Why was he playing the CFL halftime show?

The second song in his three-song set revealed all:

American woman, said get away
American woman, listen what I say
Don't come hangin' around my door
Don't wanna see your face no more
Coloured lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else's eyes

There is no possible way that was an accident. Message sent, CFL. You realize, though, that you just made Roger Goodell even more determined to destroy your 12-man, 3-down, 110-yard gridiron game before decade's end. Good luck fending off the impending invasion.

CFL Uses Lenny Kravitz to Deliver a Message to Roger Goodell originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Mon, 26 Nov 2007 23:42:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Giants Beat Dolphins In London ... Now Let's Go Home

Sportz Assassin — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 16:26:00 EST

Filed under: Dolphins, NY Giants, AFC East, NFC East, Miami, New York, International Football

Look, I'm not one of those guys who says that the NFL should never play a game in a foreign land. I just don't think that it needs to be a regular season game.

Nothing against London or Wembley Stadium, really. Or even the idea. The fans were kinda, sorta into it [though booing the Giants kneeling on the ball at the end of the game pissed them off]. And as I honestly expected, there was a streaker. But most in the crowd were Americans making the jump across the pond and the field was awful; I mean, who woulda thunk it woulda rained in England!?!?! It clearly affected the play on the field ... and we didn't send our best product out there.

I know that owners get their jollies ripping the money out of fans with pre-season games at regular season prices ... but that's where this international stuff needs to go. We used to have those "American Bowls" in Tokyo, London, Mexico City, etc. Bring that back. Look at the NBA playing their preseason games in non-NBA cities. Do that. Go back to Germany with preseason games. Just don't place a real game there.

The one positive is that Roger Goodell got to see this up front before placing a Super Bowl away from home. It rained in Miami during the last Super Bowl ... but the field looked pretty darn good. Wembley Stadium looked like a horse track before the game even started. The most ironic thing about this game was Goodell talking about setting a "grass roots" movement internationally ... while the "grass roots" on the field of play were turned upside down.

As for the game, yeesh. Eli Manning wowed the Britons with his 59 yards passing! The 65 rushing attempts in this game made it look more like a rugby match than the "Amercian Football" we here are used to. The wet divots everywhere reminded everyone of the British Open.

Still, the Miami Dolphins [who stunk it up most of the game] still were right there at the end of the game. Well, until an onside kick just skipped across the wet turf and out of bounds ... as if someone threw a rock across the Atlantic.

Yeah, we get those games now and then over here ... but that isn't the big premiere of our real national pastime to us. It wasn't hyped up like that.

Giants Beat Dolphins In London ... Now Let's Go Home originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 28 Oct 2007 16:26:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CFL Team Releases Akili Smith

Sportz Assassin — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:06:00 EST

Filed under: Bengals, AFC North, Cincinnati, International Football

Former Cincinnati Bengal and forever NFL Draft bust Akili Smith has been released by the CFL's Calgary Stampeders:

Smith spent most of the season backing up Burris before being promoted to the No. 1 spot when Burris injured his shoulder. But injury and ineffective play prevented Smith for finishing either of his two starts.

He left in the second quarter of Calgary's 42-9 loss to B.C. with a groin injury, forcing the Stampeders to go the rest of the way with inexperienced rookie Nealy. Smith started last week's 33-21 loss to Saskatchewan but after completing 4-of-12 passes for 37 yards in the first half, Smith was replaced by Sankey to start the second.

Smith went just 22-of-47 for 219 yards with 0 TDs and 5 INTs in his illustrious Stampeders history.

CFL Team Releases Akili Smith originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:06:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Could Anthony Rocca Follow Brother Sav from the AFL to the NFL?

David J. Warner — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Eagles, NFL Gossip, NFL Real Talk, Philadelphia, International Football

By his own admission, Saverio Rocca didn't have quite the NFL debut that he wanted, averaging about 40.4 yards a punt and dropping only two of seven punts inside the 20. All told, his little brother Anthony, who still plays for the Collingwood Magpies of the Australian Football League, had the better weekend. However, Sav suggested over the weekend that Anthony may follow him to America one day.

"I think there will be more players come from Australia. How many, I don't know,'' Rocca said. "But the likes of my brother, I think he'll give it a go. ... If he gets offered another contract back home, he'll take that. So it's hard to know when he'll actually come over but I think it's (a matter of) when.''

Why should you be excited about that? Because Anthony Rocca can do this:

That's two goal kicks from more than 75 meters out. Clearly, big legs run in the family. If Sav has a good season in Philadelphia, there might be a few NFL teams out there willing offer Anthony a contract that could be worth more than he might make staying in the AFL.

It's actually kind of a shame Anthony is already 30. He's a big guy who make some excellent marks inside the 50 in Saturday's win over Sydney. If he were 24 or 25, he might be considered a prospect at tight end, too.

Previously at FanHouse:
Sav Rocca Makes Philadelphia Eagles Roster
Eagles Look Average in Pittsburgh, Save Sav!

Could Anthony Rocca Follow Brother Sav from the AFL to the NFL? originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Tue, 11 Sep 2007 14:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NFL Network to Show Replay of American Football World Cup Final

David J. Warner — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 11:35:00 EST

Filed under: NFL Media Watch, International Football

It took 'em long enough, but the American Football World Cup final is finally going to be shown on TV. NFL Network just announced that it will air a replay of the final game between the USA and Japan at 1:00 PM this afternoon.

No word yet on whether it will be replayed again, so if you really need a football fix before the preseason starts, go and set your DVRs right now -- especially since you probably won't see too many of those guys on NFL Network again.

NFL Network to Show Replay of American Football World Cup Final originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sat, 28 Jul 2007 11:35:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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USA Needs Overtime to Defeat Japan at American Football World Cup

David J. Warner — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 10:05:00 EST

Filed under: NFL Fans, NCAA FB Fans, International Football

You wouldn't have thought it would go to overtime. You would have expected anybody from the birthplace of the gridiron game to waltz into a competition like this and beat down everyone in their path. It appeared the ragtag bunch of college grads that made up Team USA were going to do that, too -- until they reached the final against Japan and needed two overtimes to cap a 23-20 comeback victory to win the American Football World Cup.

A wild string of events led to that win. With the score tied at 10-10 early in the 4th quarter, Japan's 42-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Kenny Chicoine, and Diezeas Calbert picked up the ball and ran with it ... only to fumble it in USA territory and give the ball right back to Japan. Quarterback Yuichi Tomizawa then calmly led Japan 5 plays and 46 yards down the field for a touchdown, giving Japan a 17-10 lead.

Statistically speaking, Tomizawa (14 for 20, 140 yards, 2 TD) appeared to have a much better day than former Arizona quarterback Adam Austin. (12 for 25, 109 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT) It was the running game, however, that brought the USA back.

Kyle Kasperbauer of Nebraska-Omaha and Doug Blakowski of Hobart College combined for 25 carries for 120 yards, and Kasperbauer scored two TDs, including the one that tied the game with 2:51 left in regulation on a run-heavy drive.

Yosuke Kaneoya then missed a 34-yard field goal attempt in the 2nd overtime -- no word on whether he was asked to commit ritual seppuku after that miss -- and Craig Coffin kicked a 22-yard chip shot on the ensuing possession to win the game. Kasperbauer was named MVP for his efforts.

Clearly, it was a closer game than anyone in America might have expected, but remember that these were the guys that went undrafted by the NFL. These were the guys that would have moved on to become high school and small college coaches, or salesmen, or mechanics, or trainers at your local gym. For a few weeks, though, they got to play football one last time, and they represented their country well. Nobody can take that away from them.

On the other hand, what does it say about the talent level in Japan that they had the lead in the 4th quarter and nearly won this thing? And what does it say about Japanese sports fans that more than 10,000 people showed up to watch a barely-publicized event in a very foreign sport? Perhaps American football leagues would be wise to pay attention to what's going in Japan -- especially now that we know who's going to be Team USA's toughest opponent in 2011.

USA Needs Overtime to Defeat Japan at American Football World Cup originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 15 Jul 2007 10:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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USA to Face Japan in American Football World Cup Final

David J. Warner — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: NFL Fans, NCAA FB Fans, International Football

How wide is the gap between the USA and the rest of the world in the gridiron game? Well, if the group stage results of American Football World Cup are any indication, it's pretty darn wide.

In its first game on Tuesday, the USA Football squad leveled South Korea, 77-0. The Koreans were held to -31 yards total offense, yet according to USA Football head coach John Mackovic, they actually tried to convince the Americans to keep going instead of taking a knee to run out the last few minutes of the clock.

Of course, USA Football had to save up its energy for Thursday's game against Germany, whom they easily defeated, 33-7. Clearly, the USA players weren't used to playing two big games in three days. Quarterbacks Jeff Ballard and Adam Austin combined to complete only 12 of 32 passes, and Ballard threw an interception interception that Matthias Weil returned 94 yards for a touchdown, Germany's only score.

Austin and Ballard will have to do better than that in the Final on Sunday against Japan, who easily dispatched both France and Sweden by the same final score of 48-0. Japan won the American Football World Cup in 1999 and 2003, but it didn't face an American team in those tournaments. Those wins definitely helped American football's popularity among Japanese sports fans, though. 12,336 people attended the Japan-France tilt at Todoroki Athletics Stadium, and there are some who believe Japan's best gridiron heroes might actually have a shot against this ragtag bunch of Americans.

If Japan does somehow pull off the upset, you can bet that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will pay much more attention to the Japanese market in the next few years. We already know there are a few LaDainian Tomlinson fans over there.

USA to Face Japan in American Football World Cup Final originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Thu, 12 Jul 2007 11:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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USA Football Looks to Share the Wealth at American Football World Cup

David J. Warner — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: NFL Fans, NCAA FB Fans, Pressing Issues, International Football, The Word

Most people see stories about the collapse of NFL Europa and the language barriers the league faces in China and have a good laugh at what appears to be America's clumsy attempt to spread its brand of football outside its own borders. What most of them may not know, though, is that the NFL is just a small part of a larger grass roots effort to spread the gridiron gospel around the world.

USA Football, which bills itself as "an independent non-profit organization whose purpose is to galvanize, support and promote the sport at all levels," is leading this charge as one of the key members of IFAF, the International Federation of American Football, which meets next week in Kawasaki, Japan, to discuss how to further the gridiron game at the grass roots level.

Oh, and Kawasaki also happens to be the site of the 2007 American Football World Cup, a six-nation international competition that runs from July 7th through 15th. USA Football organized the country's very first national football team, and Scott Hallenbeck, the non-profit's executive director, couldn't be more stoked after seeing this team practice.

"By design, we reached out to all levels of college football, from Division I and II down to the NAIA," Hallenbeck told me in a brief phone interview, "and our coaching staff is comprised of all levels of diversity as well.

"This team has really jelled. They got out here on the 20th June, and I just got out here yesterday, and it's amazing to see how far they've come in such a short time."

Former Texas and Illinois head coach John Mackovic is the head coach for Team USA, which consists entirely of players who exhausted their college eligibility and didn't have any immediate professional prospects. Mackovic's biggest challenge has been to find a proper rotation for a 45-man team that finds itself playing three games in a week.

"It was shocking," said quarterback Jeff Ballard, who played his college ball for the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian. "I didn't realize at first that we were playing our games that quick, and we have only 45 guys on our team, so that makes it challenge. But coach (Mackovic) is emphasizing our conditioning and making sure we're in good form for when we play."

Ballard noted that the team hasn't had much chance to study South Korea and Germany, its group stage opponents, but he noted that the first group match pits those two against each other. "We don't play the first game," Ballard said, "so we can see the other teams before we play and get a feel for their game plan."

The bigger game plan, though, involves boosting the presence of the gridiron game around the world. According to Hallenbeck, while former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and NFLPA chief Gene Upshaw were instrumental in forming USA Football, they both knew that the game needed an independent international organization.

"Every sport has an international federation that's responsible for hosting international championships and shepherding the growth of the sport," said Hallenbeck, "and we wanted to make sure football was no exception. So USA Football is part of the International Federation of American Football. Forty some countries are currently participating in IFAF and organizing competitions in their various countries. All of them are trying to grow the sport organically in those countries."

Nearly all of the other IFAF nations are looking to USA Football for direction. "Many of these countries who are members of IFAF are turning to us and asking, 'How can we grow this sport,'" said Hallenbeck. "Our biggest challenge is figuring out how to make the game more affordable and more accessible in other countries."

For example, most countries also lack the equipment resources that America has, in no small part because they haven't played this game nearly as long as we have. To that end, USA Football is planning on using its web site to provide other national federations with the equipment their players need. Hallenbeck described the program as "kind of an eBay" for football equipment. He also said USA Football is working on multilingual tutorials to teach international coaches how to play the game.

Given the head start that other forms of football have over American football, the challenges here are immense. Ticket sales may be solid in Japan for the American Football World Cup, but press coverage has been non-existent so far. All things considered, this competition may be merely the fourth-most popular World Cup played this year in any form of football -- well behind the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the FIFA Women's World Cup and the Rugby World Cup.

Nevertheless, everyone involved in this World Cup believe this is the start of something big. Said Hallenbeck, "It's an exciting time for American Football around the world."

USA Football Looks to Share the Wealth at American Football World Cup originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Wed, 04 Jul 2007 09:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NFL Eyes China: After Anaesthesia, Knees Or Punt

Orson Swindle — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 12:44:00 EST

Filed under: International Football

The NFL is moving in on the Chinese market, albeit deliberately and using a microenterprise approach in doing so. In addition to sponsoring flag football leagues and sneaking in game broadcasts where it can, the league recently sent members of the New England Patriots to China to popularize the game, one that lags far behind the NBA and Premier League soccer in popularity. (Let's pray it was Randy Moss. An international incident surely can't be far behind, with the Chinese Joe Buck solemnly saying "Hao e shin!" behind him. )

The NFL even has a website in Chinese, from which we can sample some fine mistranslations. (Thanks, Google Translate!)

From the Rules section:

Defensive unit holding the other team members will be thrown on the other side to stop the advance.

That sounds...violent. And difficult, especially considering throwing Ted Washington is simply not physically possible. (Seriously, it's against the laws of nature.) More:

When the offensive players anesthesia or knees to touch that was called to intercept the end of this offensive opportunities.

Gassing the opposition does tend to end their offensive progress. Bret Favre tried to self-anesthestia himself for most of the 1995 season, if memory serves us well. But here's the choicest cut of all: the reverse translation for the Washington Redskins, according to Google Translate:

Washington Erythroderma NFL teams in the history of one of the veteran teams, in 1932 in Boston establishment...

We've been looking for a way to sum up what Daniel Snyder's done to a once fine franchise. Calling them the Erythroderma is as good a summary of the whole sad process as we can muster.

NFL Eyes China: After Anaesthesia, Knees Or Punt originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Mon, 02 Jul 2007 12:44:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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