1.
Quarterback
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A quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the team and line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is considered the leader of the offensive team. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually the leader of the offense, the quarterback touches the ball on almost every offensive play, and his successes and failures can have a significant impact on the fortunes of his team. Accordingly, the quarterback is among the most glorified and scrutinized positions in team sports, prior to each play, the quarterback will usually tell the rest of his team which play the team will run. After the team is lined up, the center will pass the ball back to the quarterback, usually on a running play, the quarterback will then hand or pitch the ball backwards to a half back or full back. On a passing play, the quarterback is almost always the responsible for trying to throw the ball downfield to an eligible receiver downfield. Depending on the scheme by his team, the quarterbacks role can vary. While quarterbacks in Canadian football need to be able to throw the ball often, in the NFL, quarterbacks are required to wear a uniform number between 1 and 19. In the CFL, the quarterback can wear any number from 0 to 49 and 70 to 99. Because of their numbering, quarterbacks are eligible receivers in the NCAA, NFHS, after a Super Bowl victory, the starting quarterback is the first player to be presented with the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The starting quarterback of the victorious Super Bowl team is chosen for the Im going to Disney World. Campaign, whether they are the Super Bowl MVP or not, examples include Joe Montana, Trent Dilfer, Dilfer was chosen even though teammate Ray Lewis was the MVP of Super Bowl XXXV, due to the bad publicity from Lewis murder trial the prior year. In addition to their role, quarterbacks are occasionally used in other roles. Most teams utilize a backup quarterback as their holder on placekicks, in the Wildcat, a formation where a halfback lines up behind the center and the quarterback lines up out wide, the quarterback can be used as a receiving target or a blocker. A more rare use for a quarterback is to punt the ball himself, Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway was known to perform quick kicks occasionally, typically when the Broncos were facing a third-and-long situation. As Roger Staubachs back-up, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Danny White was also the teams punter, ascending the starting role upon Staubachs retirement, White held his position as the teams punter for several seasons—a double duty he performed to All-American standard at Arizona State University. White also had two touchdown receptions as a Dallas Cowboy, both from the halfback option, if quarterbacks are uncomfortable with the formation the defense is using, they may call an audible change to their play
2.
Portland, Oregon
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Portland is a port and the largest city in the U. S. state of Oregon and the seat of Multnomah County. It is in the Willamette Valley region of the Pacific Northwest, at the confluence of the Willamette, the city covers 145 square miles and had an estimated population of 632,309 in 2015, making it the 26th most populous city in the United States. Approximately 2,389,228 people live in the Portland metropolitan statistical area and its Combined Statistical Area ranks 17th with a population of 3,022,178. Roughly 60% of Oregons population resides within the Portland metropolitan area, named after Portland, Maine, the Oregon settlement began to be populated in the 1830s near the end of the Oregon Trail. Its water access provided convenient transportation of goods, and the industry was a major force in the citys early economy. At the turn of the 20th century, the city had a reputation as one of the most dangerous cities in the world. After the citys economy experienced a boom during World War II. Beginning in the 1960s, Portland became noted for its liberal political values, and the city has earned a reputation as a bastion of counterculture. According to a 2009 Pew Research Center study, Portland ranks as the eighth most popular American city, the city operates with a commission-based government guided by a mayor and four commissioners as well as Metro, the only directly elected metropolitan planning organization in the United States. The city government is notable for its planning and investment in public transportation. Its climate is marked by warm, dry summers and cool and this climate is ideal for growing roses, and Portland has been called the City of Roses for over a century. Keep Portland Weird is a slogan for the city. During the prehistoric period, the land that would become Portland was flooded after the collapse of glacial dams from Lake Missoula and these massive floods occurred during the last ice age and filled the Willamette Valley with 300 to 400 feet of water. The Chinook people occupying the land which would become Portland were first documented by Meriwether Lewis, before its European settlement, the Portland Basin of the lower Columbia River and Willamette River valleys had been one of the most densely populated regions on the Pacific Coast. Large numbers of settlers began arriving in the Willamette Valley in the 1830s via the Oregon Trail. In the early 1840s a new settlement began emerging ten miles from the mouth of the Willamette River and this community was initially referred to as Stumptown and The Clearing because of the many trees cut down to allow for its growth. In 1843 William Overton saw potential in the new settlement but lacked the funds to file a land claim. For 25 cents Overton agreed to half of the 640-acre site with Asa Lovejoy of Boston
3.
Central Catholic High School (Portland, Oregon)
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Central Catholic High School is a college prep school located in Portland, Oregon, United States. Central Catholic is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, and is the only high school in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland. Central Catholic was founded in 1939 by Archbishop Edward Howard as a high school for boys. In 1930, St. Marys Cemetery was closed and the interments were relocated, mostly to Mount Calvary, and Central Catholic High School was built on the site of the old cemetery. Although the Great Depression made fund-raising difficult, the Knights of Columbus staged fund-raising affairs and it was dedicated on May 9,1939, and opened with about 125 freshman and sophomore students. The first principal was Father Francis Schaefers, initially the school operated on a pay-as-you-go basis, meeting its expenses with its tuition, which was $50 a year. Overhead was low because many classes were taught by the priests, who did not take salaries, and by sisters from different congregations. Central Catholic became a high school in the 1980s. It accepted the first co-ed students as freshmen and sophomores for the 1980–81 school year, the first co-ed class graduated in 1983. Central Catholic High School has an athletic tradition having won 25 State Championships and 18 state 2nd place titles since 1945
4.
Oregon Ducks football
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The Oregon Ducks football program is a college football team for the University of Oregon, located in the U. S. state of Oregon. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the FBS and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference, known as the Ducks, the team was commonly called the Webfoots until the mid-1960s. The first football team was fielded in 1894, Oregon plays its home games at the 54,000 seat Autzen Stadium in Eugene, its main rivals are the Oregon State Beavers and the Washington Huskies. The Ducks and Beavers historically end each regular season with the Civil War rivalry game in late November, the football program began in 1894 and played its first game on March 24,1894, defeating Albany College 44–3 under head coach Cal Young. Cal Young left after that first game and J. A, church took over the coaching position in the fall for the rest of the season. Oregon finished the season with two losses and a tie, but went undefeated the following season, winning all four of its games under head coach Percy Benson. In 1899, the team left the state for the first time, playing the California Golden Bears in Berkeley. Oregons largest margin of victory came in 1910 when they defeated the University of Puget Sound 115–0, Bezdek, Oregons first truly professional coach, led the team from 1913 through 1917. A versatile motivator of athletes, during his tenure Bezdek was also the West Coast scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates, in the 1916 season, Oregon went undefeated with seven wins and one tie under Bezdek, shutting out all their opponents except California. They opened the season against Willamette University, defeating them 97–0, the game against Washington ended in a 0–0 tie. The Oregon football team defeated the heavily favored University of Pennsylvania Quakers 14–0, in 1918 Bezdek quit Oregon to become general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was succeeded by Shy Huntington, one of the heroes of the 1917 Rose Bowl, Oregon lost the 1920 Rose Bowl to Harvard University, 7–6. This would be the teams last bowl appearance until the 1948 Cotton Bowl, prince G. Prink Callison, Oregon native, alumnus, former player and coach of the freshman team, took over from Spears in 1932. Behind standout back Mike Mikulak and a defense, Callison led the 1933 Webfoots to a 9–1 mark and Pacific Coast Conference co-championship. This record would stand as the best in history until 2001. After the homegrown Callison retired in 1937, Oregon again hired a head coach. Oliver returned as coach after the war, eventually posting a mediocre 23–28–3 cumulative record. His 71–7 loss at Texas in 1941 on the day before the attack on Pearl Harbor stands as the most points allowed by any Oregon team, Oliver, in 1945, is the only coach to see his team lose twice to Oregon State in the same season
5.
2002 NFL Draft
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The 2002 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting and has been conducted annually since 1936, the draft took place April 20–21,2002 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The draft was broadcast on ESPN both days and eventually moved to ESPN2, the draft began with the Houston Texans selecting David Carr, and it ended with the Texans selecting Mr. Irrelevant, Ahmad Miller. There were thirty-two compensatory selections distributed among eighteen teams, with the Buffalo Bills receiving the most selections with four, the University of Miami was the college most represented in the draft, having five of its players selected in the first round. The league also held a draft after the regular draft. In the explanations below, denotes trades that took place during the draft, round one For each player selected in the Supplemental Draft, the team forfeits its pick in that round in the draft of the following season. Archived from the original on January 4,2007, archived from the original on March 11,2005. Archived from the original on May 21,2011, trade references Specific references 2002 NFL Draft, Six Years Later
6.
Detroit Lions
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The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference North division. The team plays its games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit. Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and called the Portsmouth Spartans, despite success within the NFL, they could not survive in Portsmouth, then the NFLs smallest city. The team was purchased and relocated to Detroit for the 1934 season and they are one of four current teams and the only NFC team to have not yet played in the Super Bowl. Aside from a change to maroon in 1948 instituted by then head coach Bo McMillin. The design consists of silver helmets, silver pants, and either blue or white jerseys, the shade of blue used for Lions uniforms and logos is officially known as Honolulu blue, which is supposedly inspired by the color of the waves off the coast of Hawaii. The shade was chosen by Cy Huston in 1935, houston, the Lions first vice president and general manager, said of the choice, They had me looking at so many blues I am blue in the face, Huston said about the selection. But anyway, its the kind of blue, I am told, there have been minor changes to the uniform design throughout the years, such as changing the silver stripe patterns on the jersey sleeves, and changing the colors of the jersey numbers. White trim was added to the logo in 1970, in 1998, the team wore blue pants with their white jerseys along with grey socks but dropped that combination after the season. In 1999, the TV numbers on the sleeves were moved to the shoulders, in 1994, every NFL team wore throwback jerseys, and the Lions were similar to the jerseys used during their 1935 championship season. The helmets and pants were silver, the jerseys Honolulu blue with silver numbers. The team wore solid blue socks along with black shoes, the helmets also did not have a logo, as helmets were simple leather back then. The Lions also wore 50s-style jerseys during their traditional Thanksgiving Day games from 2001 to 2004 as the NFL encouraged teams to wear throwback jerseys on Thanksgiving Day, in 2003, the team added black trim to their logo and the jerseys. The face masks on the changed from blue to black with the introduction of the new color. Additionally, a home field jersey which makes black the dominant color was introduced in 2005. For 2008, the dropped the black alternate jerseys in favor of a throwback uniform to commemorate the franchises 75th anniversary. The throwback uniform became the teams permanent alternate jersey in 2009, the Lions officially unveiled new logo designs and uniforms on April 20,2009
7.
2002 NFL season
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The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League. The league went back to a number of teams, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each, also, the Chicago Bears played the 2002 season in Champaign, Illinois at Memorial Stadium because of the reconstruction of their home stadium Soldier Field. The NFL title was won by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they defeated the Oakland Raiders 48–21 in Super Bowl XXXVII, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. With the Houston Texans joining the NFL, the teams were realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each division. In creating the new divisions, the tried to maintain the historical rivalries from the old alignment. The major changes were, The Seattle Seahawks became the team to switch conferences twice. The Arizona Cardinals moved from the NFC East to the NFC West and they had originally played in Chicago and then St. Louis before moving to Phoenix in 1988. The Indianapolis Colts, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Tennessee Titans, the Atlanta Falcons, the Carolina Panthers, the New Orleans Saints, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were placed into the newly formed NFC South. Both the AFC Central and the NFC Central were renamed AFC North and NFC North and they retained their team placement, minus the Titans, Jaguars and Buccaneers of their respective conferences. From 1999 to 2001, at least one team sat out each week because of an odd number of teams in the league. Under the new scheduling formula, only two of a teams games each season are based on the previous record, down from four under the previous system. All teams play four interconference games, an analysis of win percentages in 2008 showed a statistical trend upwards for top teams since this change, the top team each year then averaged 14.2 wins, versus 13.4 previously. The playoff format was modified, four division winners and two wild cards from each conference now advance to the playoffs, instead of three division winners and three wild cards. In each conference, the winners are now seeded 1 through 4. In the current system, the way a wild card team can host a playoff game is if both teams in the conferences championship game are wild cards. Since 1990, the number of teams is still 12. A player who touches a pylon remains in-bounds until any part of his body touches the ground out-of-bounds, continuing-action fouls now become dead-ball fouls and will result in the loss of down and distance
8.
2005 NFL season
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The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League. Regular season play was held from September 8,2005 to January 1,2006, the playoffs began on January 7. This also marked the first time that a Sixth-seeded team, who by the nature of their seeding would play every game on the road, would advance to and win the Super Bowl. The season formally concluded with the Pro Bowl, the leagues all-star game, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu and this marked the final season that ABC held the rights to televise Monday Night Football after thirty-six years of airing the series. When the TV contracts were renewed near the end of the season, NBC bought the right to televise Sunday Night Football, marking the first time that the network broadcast NFL games since Super Bowl XXXII in 1998. Meanwhile, CBS and Fox renewed their contracts to the American Football Conference. The game drew an NFL regular season record of 103,467 paid fans and it was a home game for the Cardinals, mostly because the team rarely sold out at their then-home field, Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. This season was the last year that the Cardinals played at Sun Devil Stadium, the Saints first home game on September 18 against the New York Giants was moved to Giants Stadium on September 19. The impromptu Monday Night doubleheader with the already scheduled was a success. As a result of the doubleheader, the NFL designated its second weekend, September 18 and 19, as Hurricane Relief Weekend. The Saints remaining home games were split between the Alamodome in San Antonio and Louisiana State Universitys Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Being forced to travel to 13 of their 16 games and practice in substandard facilities and conditions in San Antonio, the Saints finished 3–13, their worst season since 1999. The last NFL team to abandon their city during a season was the hapless 1952 Dallas Texans. The Chiefs won the game, 30–20, and became the first visiting team to travel, since the game was planned for Sunday afternoon, it is one of the few times in history that the Dolphins wore their road jerseys in a home game played at night. The horse-collar tackle, in which a defender grabs inside the back or side of a shoulder pads. Peel-back blocks below the waist and from the back are now illegal, unnecessary roughness would be called for blocks away from the play on punters or kickers, similar to the same protection quarterbacks have after interceptions. When time is stopped by officials prior to the snap for any reason while time is in, previously, the play-clock would be reset to 25 seconds. During field goal and extra point attempts, the team will be penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct if it calls consecutive timeouts in an attempt to ice the kicker
9.
Miami Dolphins
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The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football franchise based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference East division. The Dolphins play their games at Hard Rock Stadium in the northern suburb of Miami Gardens, Florida. The Dolphins and the Atlanta Falcons are the oldest NFL franchises in the Deep South, however, of the four AFC East teams, they are the only team in the division that was not a charter member of the American Football League. The Dolphins team was founded by attorney-politician Joe Robbie and actor-comedian Danny Thomas and they began play in the AFL in 1966. For the first few years the Dolphins full-time training camp and practice facilities were at Saint Andrews School, in 1970 the Dolphins joined the NFL when the AFL–NFL merger occurred. The team made its first Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl VI, Miami also appeared in Super Bowl XVII and Super Bowl XIX, losing both games. For most of their history, the Dolphins were coached by Don Shula. Under Shula, the Dolphins posted losing records in two of his 26 seasons as the head coach. During the period spanning 1983 to the end of 1999, quarterback Dan Marino became one of the most prolific passers in NFL history, Marino led the Dolphins to five division titles,10 playoff appearances, and Super Bowl XIX before retiring following the 1999 season. During the summer of 1966, the Dolphins training camp was in St. Pete Beach with practices in August at Boca Ciega High School in Gulfport. The Dolphins had a combined 15–39–2 record in their first four seasons under head coach George Wilson, before Don Shula was hired as head coach. Shula was a Paul Brown disciple who had been lured from the Baltimore Colts after losing Super Bowl III two seasons earlier to the AFLs New York Jets and finishing 8–5–1 the following season. Interestingly, Shula got his first NFL coaching job from then-Detroit Head Coach George Wilson, when Shula replaced Wilson at Miami the Colts charged the Dolphins with tampering in their hiring of Shula, costing the Dolphins their first round draft pick in 1971. Shula introduced himself to the Miami press by saying that he didnt have any magic formulas, Shulas early training camps with the Dolphins, with four workouts a day, would soon be the stuff of sweltering, painful legend. But Shulas hard work paid dividends, as Miami improved to a 10–4 record and their first-ever playoff appearance. The Dolphins were successful in the early 1970s, becoming the first team to advance to the AFC Championship for three consecutive seasons and they captured the AFC championship in 1971 behind quarterback Bob Griese, running backs Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick, and wide receiver Paul Warfield. The AFC Divisional Playoff Game, in which the Dolphins defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, was the longest contest in NFL history, in Super Bowl VI, however, Miami lost to the Dallas Cowboys 24–3
10.
2006 NFL season
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The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League. Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31,2006, the NFL title was eventually won by the Indianapolis Colts, when they defeated the Chicago Bears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI at Dolphin Stadium at Miami Gardens, Florida on February 4. Under the flexible-scheduling system, all Sunday games in the affected weeks tentatively had the start times of 1 p. m. ET/10 a. m. PT, except played in the Pacific or Mountain time zones. On the Tuesday 12 days before the games, the league moved one game to the primetime slot and this was the first season that NBC held the rights to televise Sunday Night Football, becoming the beneficiaries by negotiating the new flexible-scheduling system. ESPN became the new home of Monday Night Football, replacing sister network American Broadcasting Company, meanwhile, CBS and Fox renewed their television contracts to the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference packages, respectively. Louis Rams – Scott Linehan, replaced interim head coach Joe Vitt who replaced Mike Martz who was not allowed to coach due to problems during the 2005 season. W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against Clinched playoff seeds are marked in parentheses, no tie games occurred this year. Tiebreakers Source,2007 NFL Record and Fact Book a Cincinnati finished ahead of Pittsburgh in the AFC North based on division record, B Tennessee finished ahead of Jacksonville in the AFC South based on division record. C Kansas City finished ahead of Denver in the AFC West based on division record, D Indianapolis clinched the AFC #3 seed based on their head-to-head victory over New England. E New Orleans clinched the NFC #2 seed based on their victory over Philadelphia. Giants clinched the NFC #6 seed based on strength of victory than Green Bay, while Carolina. Giants and Green Bay had better conference records, within each conference, the four division winners and the two wild card teams qualified for the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1 through 4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, the NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system, and there are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. In the first round, dubbed the wild-card playoffs or wild-card weekend, the division winner hosts the sixth seed wild card. The 1 and 2 seeds from each conference then receive a bye in the first round, in the second round, the divisional playoffs, the number 1 seed hosts the worst surviving seed from the first round, while the number 2 seed will play the other team. The two surviving teams from each divisional playoff games then meet in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games. Although the Super Bowl, the fourth and final round of the playoffs, is played at a neutral site, * Indicates overtime victory 2007 Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii, AFC31, NFC28 End zone celebrations became more restricted
11.
Atlanta Falcons
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The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Falcons compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference South division. The Falcons joined the NFL in 1965 as an expansion team, the AFL instead granted a franchise to Miami. The Falcons are tied with the Dolphins for being the second-oldest NFL franchise in the Deep South, the Falcons played their home games at the Georgia Dome in downtown Atlanta from the 1992 to 2016 NFL seasons. Construction began on Mercedes-Benz Stadium in May 2014, with play projected to begin there during the 2017 season and their headquarters and practice facilities are located at a 50-acre site in Flowery Branch, Georgia. Two years later, the AFL held another exhibition, this time with the New York Jets taking on the San Diego Chargers, in 1965, after the Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium was built, the city of Atlanta felt the time was right to start pursuing professional football. Another group reported it had deposited earnest money for a team in the AFL and he forced the city to make a choice between the two leagues. By June 30, the city picked Rankin Smith and the NFL, former commissioner Pete Rozelle and Smith made the deal in about five minutes and the Atlanta Falcons brought the largest and most popular sport to the city of Atlanta. The Atlanta expansion franchise became the 15th NFL franchise, and they were awarded the first pick in the 1966 NFL draft as well as the pick in each of the first five rounds. The Falcons drafted All-American linebacker Tommy Nobis from the University of Texas with the first pick of the draft, the league also held the 1966 NFL Expansion Draft six weeks later in which the Falcons selected unprotected players from existing franchises. Although the Falcons selected many players in those drafts, they still were not able to win right away. The Atlanta Falcons Football Club received its nickname on August 29,1965, miss Julia Elliott, a school teacher from Griffin, Georgia, was singled out from many people who suggested Falcons as the nickname for the new franchise. Elliott wrote, the Falcon is proud and dignified, with great courage and it is deadly and has a great sporting tradition. The Falcons had their first season in 1966, and their first preseason game on August 1,1966, under Head Coach Norb Hecker they lost their first nine regular-season games in 1966 and secured their first victory on the road against the New York Giants. The team finished the 1960s with only 12 wins, the Falcons had their first Monday Night Football game in Atlanta during the 1970 season. The only two winning seasons in this period were 1971 and 1973. In the 1978 season, the Falcons qualified for the playoffs for the first time, the following week, they lost to the Dallas Cowboys 27–20 in the Divisional Playoffs. In the 1980 season, after a winning streak, the Falcons posted a franchise then-best record of 12–4
12.
2007 NFL season
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The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League. Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30, the New England Patriots became the first team to complete the regular season undefeated since the league expanded to a 16-game regular season in 1978. However, with all efforts being put into the London regular season game, plans for the game were postponed, on March 26,2007, the league announced the aforementioned opening Saints-Colts Kickoff Game on September 6 that would be telecast on NBC. Pre-game activities featured Indiana native John Mellencamp, Faith Hill, the entertainment portion of events started 30 minutes earlier than the scheduled start time of the game, leading up to the unveiling of the Colts Super Bowl XLI championship banner. The opening events were simulcast on NFL Network, the Dallas Cowboys hosted the New York Giants in the first Sunday night game September 9 at 8,15 p. m. Monday Night Football on ESPN kicked off with a doubleheader on September 10 with the Cincinnati Bengals hosting the Baltimore Ravens at 7,00 p. m, US EDT, and the San Francisco 49ers hosting the Arizona Cardinals at 10,15 p. m. The 49ers paid tribute to three-time Super Bowl winning head coach Bill Walsh, in October 2006, NFL club owners approved a plan to stage up to two international regular season games per season beginning in 2007 and continuing through at least 2011. In Week 9, the New England Patriots faced the Indianapolis Colts in a battle of undefeated teams, many people dubbed the game Super Bowl 41 1⁄2. The Patriots prevailed 24–20, and would finish the regular season as the leagues first 16–0 team. For the second year in a row, three games were held on the United States Thanksgiving Day. In addition to the traditional games hosted by the Detroit Lions and Cowboys, based on the NFLs scheduling formula, the intraconference and interconference matchups for 2007 were, The NFL entered its second year of flexible scheduling in the final weeks of the season. In each of the Sunday night contests from Weeks 11 through 17, NBC had the option of switching its Sunday night game for a more favorable contest, in addition to an extra week of flexible scheduling, the NFL slightly changed its flex-schedule procedure. In 2006, the league did not reveal its predetermined Sunday night game, in 2007, the league announced all predetermined matchups, with a footnote on the games subject to flex scheduling. The first flex game was the New England Patriots visiting the Buffalo Bills on November 18, additionally, the Dallas Cowboys–Washington Redskins game was switched on Fox from 1 PM kickoff to 4,15 PM. B Detroit finished in place in the NFC North over Chicago based on a head-to-head sweep over Chicago. C Carolina finished in place in the NFC South over New Orleans based on a better conference record. D Kansas City finished in place in the AFC West over Oakland based on a better record against common opponents. E Tennessee clinched the AFC No.6 seed over Cleveland based on a record against common opponents
13.
New Orleans Saints
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The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Saints currently compete in the National Football League as a member of the leagues National Football Conference South division, the team was founded by John W. Mecom Jr. David Dixon and the city of New Orleans. The Saints began play in Tulane Stadium in 1967, the franchise was founded on November 1,1966. The teams primary colors are old gold and black, their logo is a simplified fleur-de-lis and they played their home games in Tulane Stadium through the 1974 NFL season. The following year, they moved to the new Louisiana Superdome, for most of their first 20 years, the Saints were barely competitive, only getting to.500 twice. In 1987, they finished 12–3—their first-ever winning season—and qualified for the NFL playoffs for the first time in franchise history, the next season of 1988 ended with a 10–6 record. In the year 2000, the Saints defeated the St. Louis Rams 31–28 to notch their first-ever playoff win, in 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast region. The Superdome was used as a temporary shelter for displaced residents. The stadium suffered damage from the hurricane, and from lack of available facilities, ultimately, however, the Superdome was repaired and renovated in time for the 2006 season at an estimated cost of US$185 million. The New Orleans Saints first post-Katrina home game was an emotionally charged Monday Night Football game versus their division rival, the Atlanta Falcons. The Saints, under head coach Sean Payton and new quarterback Drew Brees, defeated the Falcons 23–3. The 2009 season was a one for the Saints. Winning a franchise-record 13 games, they qualified for Super Bowl XLIV, over the course of 49 seasons, the Saints have compiled an overall record of 331–418–5, with a regular-season record of 324–409–5 and a playoff record of 7–9. First the brainchild of local sports entrepreneur Dave Dixon, who founded the Louisiana Superdome and the USFL. Senator Russell Long, and then–NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, the NFL needed congressional approval of the proposed AFL–NFL merger. Dixon and a civic group had been seeking an NFL franchise for over five years and had hosted record crowds for NFL exhibition games. To seal the merger, Rozelle arrived in New Orleans within a week, and announced on November 1,1966, when the deal was reached a week earlier, Dixon strongly suggested to Rozelle that the announcement be delayed until then. Dixon told an interviewer that he cleared the name with New Orleans Archbishop Philip M. Hannan
14.
2008 NFL season
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The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan Believe in Now. Conversely, the Detroit Lions became the first NFL team with a season since the strike-shortened 1982 NFL season. For the first time since the NFL expanded to the sixteen game season in 1978, previously two teams won two or fewer games in 1979,1981,1985,1992 and 2001. In preseason games, the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game was played August 3 between the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Redskins, which aired on NBC. Other preseason highlights included the first game of the Toronto Series, the Bills won that game, 24–21. The games kickoff was ninety minutes earlier than years, at 7 p. m. EDT. Other featured games during the week included the NBC Sunday Night Football game between the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts, in which the Kyle Orton-led Bears upset the Colts 29–13. Also, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady suffered a season ending injury against the Kansas City Chiefs, the 2008 season also was the third season of the use of the flexible scheduling for Sunday games starting with Week 11. This was the second season that the league played at least one regular season game outside the United States as part of its International Series. The contest between the San Diego Chargers and the New Orleans Saints was played at Wembley Stadium in London on October 26, the Chargers played at Buffalo the week beforehand on October 19 so they could immediately travel to London afterward in order to get used to the time difference. The league has also approved the Bills’ request to play at least one regular season game at Torontos Rogers Centre over each of the next five seasons. Team owner Ralph Wilson petitioned the league to play at least one game in Canada to strengthen his clubs fan base in Ontario, the game in Toronto was on December 7, after the end of the 2008 CFL season, against the Miami Dolphins, Miami won 16–3. CBS televised both games regionally, the Toronto game was carried across Canada on Rogers Sportsnet and City TV, a third game on NFL Network, featuring the Arizona Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles followed at 8,15 PM EST. The NFLs Pro Bowl all-star game at the end of the season was played at Aloha Stadium in the Honolulu, the league had the option under their current contract to hold the game elsewhere, including the possibility of moving it to the host site of the Super Bowl. W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against Playoff seeds are marked in parentheses, Giants clinched the NFC #1 seed over Carolina based on a head-to-head victory. B Miami finished ahead of New England in the AFC East based on conference record. C San Diego finished ahead of Denver in the AFC West based on a division record. D Baltimore clinched the AFC #6 seed over New England based on a conference record
15.
Pac-12 Conference
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The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that operates in the Western United States. It participates in 22 NCAA sports in the NCAAs Division I, its teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The conferences 12 members are located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, Utah and they include each states flagship public university, four additional public universities, and two private research universities. It became the Pac-12 in 2011 with the addition of the University of Colorado, with Arizona States softball title in 2011, the conference won its 400th NCAA Championship. The current commissioner of the conference is Larry Scott, Scott replaced Thomas C, hansen, who retired in July 2009 after 26 years in that position. Prior to joining the Pac-10, Scott was Chairman and CEO of the Womens Tennis Association, the Pac-12 has twelve full member institutions. Football currently is the sport where the conference is divided evenly into two geographic divisions, the North Division and the South Division. The Pac-12 spans six states in the Western United States, Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Unusual for a conference, the Pac-12s members are spread evenly between 3 regions, with 4 schools each in California, the Pacific Northwest, and the Four Corners region. The Pac-12 has four affiliate member institutions, three in California and Boise State University in Idaho, the school will maintain its Pac-12 affiliation in wrestling, which the WAC does not sponsor. No school has left the Pac-12 since its founding as the AAWU in 1959, two members of the PCC were not invited to join the AAWU or its successors. As private schools, Stanford and USC are not obligated to publish employees salaries, Eight of the twelve member schools are members of the Association of American Universities, including all of the conferences California schools. The only FBS conference with more AAU members is the Big Ten with 13 out of 14 member institutions having AAU membership, in 2014, of the twelve member schools, nine were ranked in the top 100 universities in the world. Total revenue includes ticket sales, contributions and donations, rights/licensing, student fees, school funds and all sources including TV income, camp income, food. Updated to show institutional reporting to the Department of Education as shown on the DOE Equity in Athletics website for the 2013-14 academic year, the national ranking of revenue is based on 2075 institutions reporting to the Department of Education that year. The roots of the Pac-12 Conference go back to December 2,1915, charter members were the University of California, the University of Washington, the University of Oregon, and Oregon Agricultural College. The conference began play in 1916, one year later, Washington State College joined the league, followed by Stanford University in 1918. In 1922, the PCC expanded to eight teams with the admission of USC, Montana joined the Conference in 1924, and in 1928, the PCC grew to 10 members with the addition of UCLA
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Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
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The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports Trust, the museum is closed in preparation for moving to another facility. New members are inducted each fall, in a ceremony held in recent years at the Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland, scholarship winners are honored during the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. From 1986 to 1997, the museum was located in a 3, 000-square-foot basement under the Standard Insurance Center in downtown Portland, in mid-2008, StanCorp evicted the museum in order to expand their own office space. The museum is closed in preparation for moving to an as-yet determined location, the current members of the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame are listed below. American Legion Baseball National Champions 1976–77 Portland Trail Blazers 1980–81 Oregon State Beavers mens basketball team 1982,1984,1986, and 2004 Linfield Football National Champions
17.
Touchdown
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A touchdown is a means of scoring in both American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, to score a touchdown, one team must take the football into the opposite end zone. The touchdown is scored the instant the ball crosses the plane of the line while in possession of a player whose team is trying to score in that end zone. The play is dead and the scores the moment the ball crosses the goal line in possession of a player. The slightest part of the ball being over the line is sufficient for a touchdown to score. However, only the ball counts, not a players helmet, foot, touching one of the pylons at either end of the goal line with the ball constitutes breaking the plane as well. Touchdowns are usually scored by the offense by running or passing the ball, however, the defense can also score a touchdown if they have recovered a fumble or made an interception and return it to the opposing end zone. Special teams can score a touchdown on a kickoff or punt return, in short, any play in which a player legally carries the ball across the goal line scores a touchdown, and the manner in which he gained possession is inconsequential. A touchdown is worth six points, the scoring team is also awarded the opportunity for an extra point or a two-point conversion. Afterwards, the team scored the touchdown kicks off to the opposing team. This rule was changed to the iteration in 1889. If the teammate could fair catch the ball, he could follow with a try for goal from the spot of the catch, the governing rule at the time read, A match shall be decided by a majority of touchdowns. A goal shall be equal to four touchdowns, but in the case of a tie, in 1881, the rules were modified so that a goal kicked from a touchdown took precedence over a goal kicked from the field in breaking ties. In 1882, four touchdowns were determined to take precedence over a goal kicked from the field, two safeties were equivalent to a touchdown. In 1883, points were introduced to football, and a touchdown counted as four points, a goal after a touchdown also counted as four points. In 1889, the provision requiring the ball to actually be touched to the ground was removed, a touchdown was now scored by possessing the ball beyond the goal line. In 1897, the touchdown scored five points, and the goal after touchdown added another point, in 1900, the definition of touchdown was changed to include situations where the ball becomes dead on or above the goal line. In 1912, the value of a touchdown was increased to six points, the end zone was also added
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Interception
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In American or Canadian football, an interception occurs when a forward pass is caught by a player of the opposing team. This leads to a change of possession during the play. Following the stoppage of play, if the interceptor retained possession of the ball, interceptions are predominantly made by the secondary or the linebackers, who are usually closest to the quarterbacks intended targets, the wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends. Less frequently, a defensive lineman may get an interception from a ball, a near sack, a shovel pass, or a screen pass. For example, on December 4,2016, the Kansas City Chiefs strong safety Eric Berry scored the winning points via a pick two in a 29-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Berry also achieved an ordinary pick six earlier in the same game, if the intercepting team can run out the clock, the intercepting player may down the ball immediately and not attempt to gain any yardage. This eliminates the chance of a fumble that could be recovered by the other team, there are also player safety implications, when the ball is turned over, the play is now suddenly and unexpectedly moving in the opposite direction. All of the players on offense are instantly susceptible to unexpected blocks, even if not attempting to stop the ball carrier, additionally, offensive players, particularly the quarterback, are often inexperienced tacklers and are at risk of injuring themselves while tackling the ball carrier. Only the interception of a pass is recorded statistically as an interception. The interception of a pass is recorded as a fumble by the passer. Lester Hayes of the Oakland Raiders was one of the National Football Leagues leaders at interceptions in the late 1970s and he was known for covering his chest, shoulders and forearms with a copious amount of the adhesive Stickum to help him hold on to the ball. He continued to use the substance, which he called pick juice, paul Krause holds the record for most career interceptions, with 81, and is tied for third place for most interceptions by an NFL rookie in his first season, with 12. He played his first three years in the NFL from 1964 to 1967 with the Washington Redskins but was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, Krause played until 1979 and appeared in four Super Bowls with the Vikings. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998, Rod Woodson played 16 seasons with Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Baltimore, and Oakland, and holds the NFL record for most interception returns for touchdown in an NFL career with 12. Also, he holds the NFL record for most total defensive TD returns in a career with 13, Woodson, who is third on the NFL all-time career interception list with 71, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009. Sharper holds the NFL record for return yardage in a single season with 376 yards in 2009. He is also tied with Rod Woodson for most total defensive TD returns career with 13, charles Woodson, formerly with the Green Bay Packers and Oakland Raiders has 65 career interceptions and tied Rod Woodson for most defensive touchdowns with 13. Woodson and Sharper are tied for all time in interceptions returned for touchdowns with 11
19.
American football
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The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, or else they turn over the football to the opposing team, if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the teams end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponents goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins, American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of association football and rugby football. The first game of American football was played on November 6,1869, during the latter half of the 1870s, colleges playing association football switched to the Rugby Union code, which allowed carrying the ball. American football as a whole is the most popular sport in the United States, Professional football and college football are the most popular forms of the game, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. As of 2012, nearly 1.1 million high school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually, almost all of them men, in the United States, American football is referred to as football. The term football was established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season. The terms gridiron or American football are favored in English-speaking countries where other codes of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, American football evolved from the sports of association football and rugby football. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6,1869 between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams, the game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19,1873 to create a set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet were specified, Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. An 1875 Harvard-Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two impressed Princeton athletes and these players introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Columbia then agreed to play using a form of rugby union rules with a modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, although Yale did not join until 1879, the introduction of the snap resulted in unexpected consequences. Prior to the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position, however, a group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they now could hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, both teams in a game between Yale-Princeton used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records, each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0-0 tie
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College football
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It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. No minor league farm organizations exist in American football and it is in college football where a players performance directly impacts his chances of playing professional football. The best collegiate players will declare for the professional draft after 3 to 4 years of collegiate competition. Those not selected can still attempt to land an NFL roster spot as a free agent. Even after the emergence of the professional National Football League, college football remained extremely popular throughout the U. S, in many cases, college stadiums employ bench-style seating, as opposed to individual seats with backs and arm rests. This allows them to more fans in a given amount of space than the typical professional stadium. College athletes, unlike players in the NFL, are not permitted by the NCAA to be paid salaries, colleges are only allowed to provide non-monetary compensation such as athletic scholarships that provide for tuition, housing, and books. Modern North American football has its origins in various games, all known as football, by the 1840s, students at Rugby School were playing a game in which players were able to pick up the ball and run with it, a sport later known as Rugby football. The game was taken to Canada by British soldiers stationed there and was soon being played at Canadian colleges, the first documented gridiron football match was a game played at University College, a college of the University of Toronto, November 9,1861. One of the participants in the game involving University of Toronto students was William Mulock, a football club was formed at the university soon afterward, although its rules of play at this stage are unclear. In 1864, at Trinity College, also a college of the University of Toronto, F. Barlow Cumberland, modern Canadian football is widely regarded as having originated with a game played in Montreal, in 1865, when British Army officers played local civilians. The game gradually gained a following, and the Montreal Football Club was formed in 1868, early games appear to have had much in common with the traditional mob football played in England. The games remained largely unorganized until the 19th century, when games of football began to be played on college campuses. Each school played its own variety of football, Princeton University students played a game called ballown as early as 1820. A Harvard tradition known as Bloody Monday began in 1827, which consisted of a mass ballgame between the freshman and sophomore classes, in 1860, both the town police and the college authorities agreed the Bloody Monday had to go. The Harvard students responded by going into mourning for a figure called Football Fightum. The authorities held firm and it was a dozen years before football was again played at Harvard. Dartmouth played its own version called Old division football, the rules of which were first published in 1871, all of these games, and others, shared certain commonalities
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High school football
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High school football is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular sports in both countries. It is also popular amongst American High school teams in Europe, High school football began in the late 19th century, concurrent with the start of many college football programs. In the late 19th and early 20th century, many college, other traditions of high school football such as pep rallies, marching bands, mascots, and homecomings are mirrored from college football. No true minor league farm organizations exist in American football, therefore, high school football is generally considered to be the third tier of American football in the United States, behind professional and college competition. The National Federation of State High School Associations establishes the rules of high school football in the United States, two states, Texas and Massachusetts, use NCAA playing rules except as shown below. Kickoffs take place at the kicking teams 40-yard line, as opposed to the 35 in college, if an attempted field goal is missed it is treated as a punt, normally it would be a touchback and the opposing team will start at the 20-yard line. However, if it not enter the end zone, it can be downed or returned as a normal punt. Any kick crossing the line is automatically a touchback, kicks cannot be returned out of the end zone. Pass interference by the results in a 15-yard penalty. Pass interference by the results in a 15-yard penalty, from the previous spot. The defense cannot return an extra-point attempt for a score, any defensive player that encroaches the neutral zone, regardless of whether the ball was snapped or not, commits a dead ball foul for encroachment. 5-yard penalty from the previous spot, prior to 2013, offensive pass interference resulted in a 15-yard penalty AND a loss of down. The loss of down provision has been deleted from the rules starting in 2013, in college and the NFL, offensive pass interference is only 10 yards. The use of overtime, and the type of overtime used, is up to the state association. The NFHS offers a suggested overtime procedure based on the Kansas Playoff, intentional grounding may be called even if the quarterback is outside the tackle box. The home team must wear dark-colored jerseys, and the team must wear white jerseys. In the NFL, the team has choice of jersey color, and in the NCAA
22.
University of Portland
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The University of Portland is a private Roman Catholic university located in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross, which also founded UPs sister school the University of Notre Dame, founded in 1901, UP has a student body of about 4,000 students. UP is ranked 8th in the west for Regional Universities in 2015 by U. S. News & World Report, the campus is located in the University Park neighborhood near St. Johns, on a bluff overlooking the Willamette River. With a college of arts and sciences, a school, and schools of business, education, engineering. It is the largest corporation in North Portland and has an economic impact on Portland of some $170 million. More than 13,000 alumni live in the Portland metropolitan area, the first institution located on Wauds Bluff was Portland University, which was established by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1891. He learned that it was called West Hall and had been unoccupied for years since the closure of Portland University. The university opened its doors to 52 young men on September 5,1901, at the request of the archbishop, the Congregation of the Holy Cross assumed ownership of the university in 1902. After two decades, Columbia University achieved junior college status, in 1925, the universitys College of Arts and Sciences was founded, and in 1929, a class of seven men were awarded the universitys first bachelors degrees. In 1935, the took on its present name. The 1930s also saw the St. Vincent Hospital school incorporated to the University as the School of Nursing, in 1948 the school of Engineering was founded, followed by the Graduate School in 1950 and the School of Education in 1962. University of Portland admitted women to all courses of study in 1951, prior to this transition, Marylhurst University had been the only Catholic institution of higher learning to serve the educational needs of Oregon women. The building housing the library was completed in 1957, in 1967 ownership of the school was transferred from the Congregation of Holy Cross to a board of Regents. Multnomah College became part of the University of Portland in 1969, the University of Portland was ranked the 23rd top college in the United States by Payscale and CollegeNets Social Mobility Index college rankings. The University of Portland is ranked as the 8th best Regional University, the University of Portland is also the top producer of Fulbright scholars in the entire nation among “master’s universities”. Admission to UP is rated as selective by U. S. News & World Report. For fall 2014, UP received 11,099 freshmen applications,6,986 were admitted, the average GPA of the enrolled freshmen was 3.63, while the middle 50% range of SAT scores were 540-660 for critical reading and 540-650 for math. Of the 48% of enrolled freshmen submitting class rank, 35% were in the top tenth of their high school graduating class, the most popular majors for undergraduates are Nursing, Biology, Marketing & Management, Finance, Elementary Education, Organizational Communication, Psychology, and Spanish
23.
University of Oregon
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The University of Oregon is a public flagship research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institutions 295-acre campus is along the Willamette River, since July 2014, UO has been governed by the Board of Trustees of the University of Oregon. The university has a Carnegie Classification of highest research activity and has 21 research centers, UO was admitted to the Association of American Universities in 1969. UO offers 316 undergraduate and graduate programs in a wide range of disciplines. Additionally, the Graduate School oversees the universitys graduate and certificate programs, UO student-athletes compete as the Ducks and are part of the Pac-12 Conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. With eighteen varsity teams, the Oregon Ducks are best known for their team and track. The Oregon State Legislature established the university on October 12,1872, the residents of Eugene struggled to help finance the institution, holding numerous fundraising events such as strawberry festivals, church socials, and produce sales. They raised $27,500, enough to buy eighteen acres of land at a cost of $2,500, the doors officially opened in 1876 with the name of Oregon State University and Deady Hall as its sole building. The first year of enrollment contained 155 students taught by five faculty members, the first graduating class was in 1878, graduating five students. In 1881, the university was closed, it was $8,000 in debt before Henry Villard donated $7,000 to help pay for the debt. In 1913, and again in 1932, there were proposals to merge the university with what is now Oregon State University, during Prince Lucien Campbells tenure as president from 1902 to 1925, the university experienced tremendous growth. The budget, enrollment, facilities, and faculty members all grew several times its amount prior to his presidency, however, the University of Oregon lost its School of Engineering to Oregon Agricultural College, now known as Oregon State University. The Zorn-MacPherson Bill in 1932 proposed the University of Oregon and Oregon State College merge, the bill lost in a landslide vote of over 6 to 1. The University of Oregon Medical School was founded in 1887 in Portland, however, in 1974 it became an independent institution known as Oregon Health Sciences University. In 1969, the UO was admitted into the Association of American Universities, with contributions exceeding $100 million from benefactors such as Phil Knight and Lorry I. Lokey, the goal was exceeded by over $253 million. The University occupies over 80 buildings and these projects, among others, were commissioned in part to support current student enrollment as well as possible future increases. Effective July 1,2014, the University of Oregon became an independent public body governed by the Board of Trustees of the University of Oregon
24.
Len Casanova
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Leonard Joseph Len Casanova was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the football coach at Santa Clara University, the University of Pittsburgh. Casanova was also the baseball coach at Santa Clara from 1940 to 1942. After retiring from coaching, he served as the director at Oregon. Casanova was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1977, Casanova was born to Swiss-American immigrants, John and Marie Ursula Casanov on June 12,1905 on a ranch in the Grizzly Bluff area near Ferndale, California. He got his start in football in the early 1920s when he played halfback for Ferndale High School, the Ferndale team ended the season with seven wins in eight games. Clark Bugbee, a high school teammate, later recalled that Cas wanted to be a good punter, the coach gave him a football to take home and practice with. He practiced winter and summer and turned out to be quite a punter in college, while in high school, Casanova delivered newspapers and worked at a meat market in town. In his senior year, he played basketball and baseball and was president of the student body. In the 1923 Ferndale High School yearbook, under the column Expected to Be in the Senior Horoscope section, Casanova entered Santa Clara University in the fall of 1923 and played football and baseball from 1923 through 1927. As a freshman in a game against Stanford, he picked up a fumble, in 1924, Casanova was playing halfback and punting for Santa Clara. He first made headlines as a player for Santa Clara in 1924 after his heroics in a game against Saint Marys. A popular rivalry since its origination in 1895, the Little Big Game between Santa Clara and Saint Marys was played annually in front of packed crowds at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. With the ball resting on the Santa Clara two-yard line, Casanova was called on to punt from his own end zone and he punted a ball that went out of bounds on the Saint Marys one-yard line. The punt traveled a total of 97 yards and would rank as the second longest of college football history if pre-1937 statistics were included in the NCAA record book. Casanova was Santa Claras team captain in his senior year under coach Adam Walsh, Casanova graduated in 1927 with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a minor in history. He attended summer sessions at Santa Clara and obtained his teaching credential in 1932, following college graduation, Casanova played one season with the San Francisco Olympic Club team. Casanova began his teaching and coaching career in 1927 at St. Joseph Military Academy in Belmont, in 1928, he began teaching physical education and coaching football and baseball at Sequoia High School in Redwood City, California
