Friday Morning Cup o’Chiefs

From River Falls, Wisconsin

I’m going over the wall this morning, heading out for a two-day furlough to Canton, Ohio and the induction ceremonies for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Unfortunately, I will not get there in time to attend the Nitschke Lunch.  In 30-plus years of covering everything there is to cover in the world of football, this lunch ranks in the top five.  It will be this afternoon at a country club in Canton and the only people allowed to attend are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Hall’s executives, the NFL Commissioner and any members of the selection committee that can attend.  This is the history of football come alive.

In August 2003, I was there for the luncheon the year both Hank Stram and Marcus Allen were inducted.  Basically, this event is an opportunity for the guys who are already in the Hall to prepare their new teammates for what they’ll face during the induction.  For years, the leader of this was old Green Bay LB Ray Nitschke.  Now, former Rams DE Deacon Jones serves as the sage voice of experience.

I sat at a table with Jan Stenerud and Bob Griese.  All around us were tables with three, four, five Hall of Famers.  Sitting at one table were Deacon Jones, Eric Dickerson, Leroy Kelly and Bobby Mitchell.  At another was Jack Ham, Sam Huff, Paul Hornung and Ted Hendricks.  It went on like this for table after table.

The moment I will always remember was when the whole group sang Happy Birthday to Lamar Hunt,  who was there as a member of the Hall of Fame Class of 1972.  Lamar never wanted to be the focus of attention, but he sat there beaming as these football immortals sang loud and long.

In my best Dick Enberg … oh my, what a memory!

We will miss the next few practices in the northwoods.  Besides the on-field work, we are also missing two big annual camp events: the meeting with NFL officials and Zarda BBQ night.  We’ll cover the officials in the next week or so because that’s one area of pro football that will get some attention from us.  Missing Zarda’s ‘Q hurts bad.  They rank among my top five.  OK, I know you want to know; here’s the top five, in no certain order: Zardas, Rosedale, Haywards, BB’s Lawnside and Gates. I’m also partial to Oklahoma Joe’s. P.S.: I can always be bribed to reconsider!

Reports from Hall of Fame weekend in Canton will start flowing soon.

COUNTDOWN

It’s 6 days now from the Chiefs pre-season opener against the Bears in Chicago.  It’s 37 days to the regular season opener in Foxboro against the Patriots and it’s 44 days until the Chiefs return to Arrowhead Stadium for their regular season home opener against the Oakland Raiders.

Should you happen to be in the northwoods, say happy birthday to Glenn Dorsey.  He’s celebrating his 23rd birthday today.

CHIEFS HISTORY

It was on August 1, 1998 that the Chiefs lost their pre-season opener to the Green Bay Packers, 27-24 in OT at the Tokyo Dome.  It was the Chiefs second visit to Japan.  The first trip was in August 1994, when they made the long trip to play Minnesota.  They lost that game too, 17-9, making the Chiefs 0-2 in the Far East.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Will the Favre Saga end in New York?  There’s talking going on between Packers, Jets and the QB.

Here’s a good overview of this year’s inductees to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and their accomplishments in pro football.

Now here’s a Hall of Famer who is one unhappy dude.  Jim Brown is suing Sony and EA Sports for stealing his spirit for a computer video game.

The Steelers must be really desperate.  They signed KR Eddie Drummond.

AROUND THE AFC WEST

Here’s a look at the Chargers running back situation.  Remember, they lost L.T.’s backup Michael Turner, who left in free agency for Atlanta.

In Denver, tight end Tony Scheffler is trying to overcome his physical problems so he can be Jay Cutler’s security blanket in the Broncos offense.

A look at some of the unknowns who have been getting attention at the Raiders camp in Napa.