1.
Michigan Wolverines football
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The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history, Michigan began competing in intercollegiate football in 1879. The Wolverines joined the Big Ten Conference at its inception in 1896, Michigan has won or shared 42 league titles, and, since the inception of the AP Poll in 1936, has finished in the top 10 a total of 37 times. The Wolverines claim 11 national championships, most recently that of the 1997 squad voted atop the final AP Poll. From 1900 to 1989, Michigan was led by a series of nine head coaches, Fielding H. Fritz Crisler brought his winged helmet from Princeton University in 1938 and led the 1947 Wolverines to a national title and Michigans second Rose Bowl win. Bo Schembechler coached the team for 21 seasons in which he won 13 Big Ten titles and 194 games, a program record. Following Schembechlers retirement, the program was coached by two of his assistants, Gary Moeller and then Lloyd Carr, who maintained the programs overall success over the next 18 years. However, the programs fortunes declined under the two coaches, Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke, who were both fired after relatively short tenures. Following Hokes dismissal, Michigan hired Jim Harbaugh on December 30,2014, Harbaugh is a former quarterback of the team, having played for Michigan between 1982 and 1986 under Schembechler. The Michigan Wolverines have featured 78 players that have garnered consensus selection to the College Football All-America Team, Three Wolverines have won the Heisman Trophy, Tom Harmon in 1940, Desmond Howard in 1991, and Charles Woodson in 1997. Gerald Ford, who would become the 38th President of the United States. On May 30,1879, Michigan played its first intercollegiate game against Racine College at White Stocking Park in Chicago. The Chicago Tribune called it the first rugby-football game to be played west of the Alleghenies, midway through the first inning, Irving Kane Pond scored the first touchdown for Michigan. According to Will Perrys history of Michigan football, the crowd responded to Ponds plays with cheers of Pond Forever, in 1881, Michigan played against Harvard in Boston. The game that marked the birth of inter-sectional football, on their way to a game in Chicago in 1887, Michigan players stopped in South Bend, Indiana and introduced football to students at the University of Notre Dame. A November 23 contest marked the inception of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football program, in 1894, Michigan defeated Cornell, which was the first time in collegiate football history that a western school defeated an established power from the east. By 1898 Amos Alonzo Stagg was fast at work at turning the University of Chicago football program into a powerhouse. Before the final game of the 1898 season, Chicago was 9–1–1 and Michigan was 9–0, Michigan won, 12–11, capturing the programs first conference championship in a game that inspired The Victors, which later became the schools fight song
2.
New England Patriots
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The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston region. The Patriots compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference East division. The Patriots are also headquartered at Gillette Stadium, an original member of the American Football League, the Patriots joined the NFL in the 1970 merger of the two leagues. The team changed its name from the original Boston Patriots after relocating to Foxborough in 1971, the Patriots played their home games at Foxboro Stadium from 1971 to 2001, then moved to Gillette Stadium at the start of the 2002 season. The Patriots rivalry with the New York Jets is considered one of the most bitter rivalries in the NFL. The Patriots have appeared in the Super Bowl nine times in franchise history, the Patriots have since become one of the most successful teams in NFL history, winning 14 AFC East titles in 16 seasons since 2001, without a losing season in that period. The team owns the record for most Super Bowls reached and won by a head coach–quarterback tandem, the Patriots are tied with the 49ers and Cowboys for the second most Super Bowl wins with five. The Steelers are in front with six, however, the Patriots are the only team to win five Super Bowls with the same coach and quarterback. On November 16,1959, Boston business executive Billy Sullivan was awarded the eighth, the following winter, locals were allowed to submit ideas for the Boston football teams official name. The most popular choice – and the one that Sullivan selected – was the Boston Patriots, immediately thereafter, artist Phil Bissell of The Boston Globe developed the Pat Patriot logo. The Patriots struggled for most of their years in the AFL, nickerson Field, Harvard Stadium, Fenway Park, and Alumni Stadium all served as home fields during their time in the American Football League. They played in only one AFL championship game, following the 1963 season and they did not appear again in an AFL or NFL post-season game for another 13 years. When the NFL and AFL merged in 1970, the Patriots were placed in the American Football Conference East division, the following year, the Patriots moved to a new stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which would serve as their home for the next 30 years. As a result of the move, they announced they would change their name from the Boston Patriots to the Bay State Patriots, the name was rejected by the NFL and on March 22,1971, the team officially announced they would change its geographic name to New England. During the 1970s, the Patriots had some success, earning a berth to the playoffs in 1976—as a wild card team—and in 1978—as AFC East champions and they lost in the first round both times. In 1985, they returned to the playoffs, and made it all the way to Super Bowl XX, following their Super Bowl loss, they returned to the playoffs in 1986, but lost in the first round. The team would not make the playoffs again for eight more years, during the 1990 season, the Patriots went 1–15. They changed ownership three times in the ensuing 14 years, being purchased from the Sullivan family first by Victor Kiam in 1988, who sold the team to James Orthwein in 1992
3.
New York Jets
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The New York Jets are a professional American football team located in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference East division. The team is headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, in a unique arrangement for the league, the Jets share MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey with the New York Giants. The franchise is legally and corporately registered as New York Jets, the team was founded in 1959 as the Titans of New York, an original member of the American Football League, later, the franchise joined the NFL in the AFL–NFL merger in 1970. The team began to play in 1960 at the Polo Grounds, under new ownership, the current name was adopted in 1963 and the franchise moved to Shea Stadium in 1964 and then to the Meadowlands Sports Complex in 1984. Since 1968, the Jets have appeared in the playoffs 13 times, however, the Jets have never returned to the Super Bowl, making them one of three NFL teams to win their lone Super Bowl appearance, along with the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The teams training facility, Atlantic Health Jets Training Center, which opened in 2008, is located in Florham Park, the first organizational meeting of the American Football League took place on August 14,1959. Wismer was granted the franchise later dubbed the Titans of New York as Wismer explained. He secured the Titans home field at the decrepit Polo Grounds, by 1962, the debt continued to mount for Wismer, forcing the AFL to assume the costs of the team until seasons end. A five-man syndicate, headed by Sonny Werblin, saved the team from certain bankruptcy, Werblin renamed the team the New York Jets since the team would play in Shea Stadium near LaGuardia Airport. The new name was intended to reflect the approach of his team. The Jets owners hired Weeb Ewbank as the manager and head coach. The early 1990s saw New York struggling, after firing coach Bruce Coslet, owner Leon Hess hired Pete Carroll who struggled to a 6–10 record and was promptly fired at the end of the season. Thereafter, Rich Kotite was selected to lead the team to victory, Kotite stepped down at the end of his second season forcing the Jets to search for a new head coach. Hess lured then-disgruntled New England Patriots head coach Bill Parcells to New York in 1997, Parcells led the team back to relevance and coached them to the AFC Championship Game in 1998. Hess died in 1999 while the team, plagued by injuries, produced an eight win record, the franchise obtained a new owner in Woody Johnson in 2000. Additionally, through the 2000s the Jets visited the five times. Rex Ryan was hired in January 2009, Ryan led the team to back-to-back AFC Championship appearances during his first two years but the team never made the playoffs again during his tenure
4.
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
5.
Kansas City Chiefs
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The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference West division. The team was founded in 1960 as the Dallas Texans by businessman Lamar Hunt and was a member of the American Football League. In 1963, the relocated to Kansas City and assumed their current name. The Chiefs joined the NFL as a result of the merger in 1970, the team is valued at just under $1 billion. The Chiefs were also the team, after the Green Bay Packers, to appear in more than one Super Bowl. The Chiefs Wild-Card playoff victory ended what was at the time the third-longest drought in the NFL, in 1959, Lamar Hunt began discussions with other businessmen to establish a professional football league that would rival the National Football League. Hunts desire to secure a team was heightened after watching the 1958 NFL Championship Game between the New York Giants and Baltimore Colts. After unsuccessful attempts to purchase and relocate the NFLs Chicago Cardinals to his hometown of Dallas, Texas, Hunt went to the NFL and asked to create an expansion franchise in Dallas. The NFL turned him down, so Hunt then established the American Football League and started his own team, the Dallas Texans, to begin play in 1960. Hunt hired an assistant coach from the University of Miami football team, Hank Stram, to be the teams head coach after the job offer was declined by Bud Wilkinson. The Texans shared the Cotton Bowl with the NFLs cross-town competition Dallas Cowboys for three seasons, the Texans were to have exclusive access to the stadium until the NFL put an expansion team, the Dallas Cowboys, there. While the team averaged a league-best 24,500 at the Cotton Bowl, in the franchises first two seasons, the team managed only a 14–14 record. In their third season, the Texans strolled to an 11–3 record, the game was broadcast nationally on ABC and the Texans defeated the Oilers 20–17 in double overtime. The game lasted 77 minutes and 54 seconds, which stands as the longest championship game in professional football history. It turned out to be the last game the team would play as the Dallas Texans and he considered moving the Texans to either Atlanta or Miami for the 1963 season. However, he was swayed by an offer from Kansas City Mayor Harold Roe Bartle. Bartle promised to triple the franchises season ticket sales and expand the capacity of Municipal Stadium to accommodate the team
6.
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
7.
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
8.
Denver Broncos
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The Denver Broncos are an American football team based in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference West division. The team began play in 1960 as a member of the American Football League. The Broncos are owned by the Pat Bowlen trust, the Broncos have played at Sports Authority Field at Mile High since 2001, after previously playing at Mile High Stadium from 1960 to 2000. The Broncos were barely competitive during their 10-year run in the AFL and they did not complete a winning season until 1973. In 1977, four years later, they qualified for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, since 1975, the Broncos have become one of the NFLs more successful teams, having suffered only six losing seasons. However, the Broncos have the NFL record for most Super Bowl losses and they have five players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, John Elway, Floyd Little, Gary Zimmerman, Shannon Sharpe, and the most recently elected member, Terrell Davis. The Denver Broncos were founded on August 14,1959, when Minor League Baseball owner Bob Howsam was awarded an American Football League charter franchise, the Broncos won the first-ever AFL game over the Boston Patriots 13–10, on September 9,1960. On August 5,1967, they became the first-ever AFL team to defeat an NFL team, however, the Broncos were not successful in the 1960s, compiling a record of 39–97–4 in the league. Denver came close to losing its franchise in 1965, until an ownership group took control. The teams first superstar, Franchise Floyd Little, was instrumental in keeping the team in Denver, due to his signing in 1967 as well as his Pro Bowl efforts on, in 1972, the Broncos hired former Stanford University coach John Ralston as their head coach. In 1973, he was the UPIs AFC Coach of the Year, in five seasons with the Broncos, Ralston guided the team to winning seasons three times. Though Ralston finished the 1976 season with a 9–5 record, the team, as was the case in Ralstons previous winning seasons, following the season, several prominent players publicly voiced their discontent with Ralston, which soon led to his resignation. Dan Reeves became the youngest head coach in the NFL when he joined the Broncos in 1981 as vice president, quarterback John Elway, who played college football at Stanford, arrived in 1983 via a trade. Prior to Elway, the Broncos had over 24 different starting quarterbacks in its 23 seasons to that point, Reeves and Elway guided the Broncos to six post-season appearances, five AFC West divisional titles, three AFC championships and three Super Bowl appearances during their 12-year span together. Reeves was fired after the 1992 season and replaced by his protégé and friend Wade Phillips, Phillips was fired after a mediocre 1994 season, in which management felt he lost control of the team. In 1995, Mike Shanahan, who had served under Reeves as the Broncos offensive coordinator. Shanahan drafted rookie running back Terrell Davis, in 1996, the Broncos were the top seed in the AFC with a 13–3 record, dominating most of the teams that year
9.
Super Bowl XXXIX
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The Patriots defeated the Eagles by the score of 24–21. The game was played on February 6,2005, at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, the Patriots, who entered the Super Bowl after compiling a 14–2 regular season record, became the first team since the 1997–1998 Denver Broncos to win consecutive Super Bowls. New England also became the team after the Dallas Cowboys to win three Super Bowls in four years. The Eagles were making their second Super Bowl appearance after posting a 13–3 regular season record, the game was close throughout, with the teams battling to a 14–14 tie by the end of the third quarter. The Patriots then scored 10 points in the 4th quarter with Corey Dillons 2-yard touchdown run and Adam Vinatieris 22-yard field goal. The Eagles then cut their deficit to 24–21, with quarterback Donovan McNabbs 30-yard touchdown pass to receiver Greg Lewis, with 1,48 remained in the game but could not sustain the comeback. Overall, New England forced four turnovers, while Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch was named Super Bowl MVP for recording 133 receiving yards and tied the Super Bowl record with 11 catches. Because he recorded 10 catches during the previous years Super Bowl, Branch was the third offensive player ever to win Super Bowl MVP honors without scoring a touchdown or throwing a touchdown pass. The other two players were Joe Namath in Super Bowl III and Fred Biletnikoff in Super Bowl XI, the broadcast of the game on Fox was watched by an estimated 86 million viewers. NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XXXIX to Jacksonville during their November 1,2000 meeting held in Atlanta. New England finished the season with a record of 14–2, bested only by the Steelers 15–1 mark. The Patriots major acquisition prior to the season was running back Corey Dillon. In his first 6 seasons in the league, Dillon averaged over 1,250 rushing yards per year, in 2003, however, injuries, conflicts with the Bengals management and coaching staff, and other off-field problems limited him to just 541 yards during the season. By the end of the 2003 season, Dillon had lost his job to running back Rudi Johnson. He also caught 15 passes for 103 yards and another touchdown, fullback Patrick Pass also emerged as a big contributor, rushing for 141 yards, catching 28 passes for 215 yards, and gaining another 115 yards on kickoff returns. Pro Bowl quarterback Tom Brady remained at the helm of the Patriots offense, completing 288 out of 474 of his passes for 3,692 yards,28 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. Although wide receiver Deion Branch, New Englands major deep threat, missed most of the season because of injuries, Wide receiver David Givens ended up being the teams leading receiver with 56 catches for 874 yards and 3 touchdowns. Wide receiver David Patten also contributed with 44 receptions for 800 yards and 7 touchdowns, defensive backs Tyrone Poole and Ty Law suffered season-ending injuries, while safety Eugene Wilson, who led the team with 4 interceptions, missed several games
10.
Pro Bowl
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The Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League. Between 2014 and 2016, the NFL experimented with an unconferenced format, the players were picked in a televised schoolyard pick prior to the game. Unlike most major leagues, which hold their all-star games roughly midway through their respective regular seasons. Between 1970 and 2009, it was held the weekend after the Super Bowl. Since 2010, the Pro Bowl has been played the weekend before the Super Bowl, Players from the two teams competing in the Super Bowl do not participate. Observers and commentators expressed their disfavor with the Pro Bowl in its current state and it draws lower TV ratings than its regular-season games, although the game draws similar ratings to other major all-star games, such as the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. However, the biggest concern of teams is to avoid injuries to the star players, the Associated Press wrote that players in the 2012 game were hitting each other as though they were having a pillow fight. Between 1980 and 2016, the game was played at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii, on June 1,2016, the NFL announced that they reached a multi-year deal to move the game to Orlando, Florida as part of the leagues ongoing efforts to make the game more relevant. For years, the game has suffered from lack of interest due to perceived low quality, the 2017 Pro Bowl will also mark a return to the AFC–NFC format. The first Pro All-Star Game, featuring the all-stars of the 1938 season, was played on January 15,1939 at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. The NFL All-Star Game was played again in Los Angeles in 1940 and then in New York, although originally planned as an annual contest, the all-star game was discontinued after 1942 because of travel restrictions put in place during World War II. During the first five games, an all-star team would face that years league champion. The league champion won the first four games before the all-stars were victorious in the game of this early series. The concept of a game was not revived until June 1950. The game was sponsored by the Los Angeles Publishers Association and it was decided that the game would feature all-star teams from each of the leagues two conferences rather than the league champion versus all-star format which had been used previously. This was done to avoid confusion with the Chicago College All-Star Game, the teams would be led by the coach of each of the conference champions. The first 21 games of the series were played in Los Angeles, the site of the game was changed annually for each of the next seven years before the game was moved to Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii for 30 straight seasons from 1980 through 2009. With the new rule being that the teams do not include players from the teams that will be playing in the Super Bowl
11.
Tackle (football move)
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Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary and important purposes of tackling are to dispossess an opponent of the ball, the word is used in some contact variations of football to describe the act of physically holding or wrestling a player to the ground. In others, it simply one or more methods of contesting for possession of the ball. It can therefore be used as both a defensive or attacking move, in Middle Dutch, the verb tacken meant to grab or to handle. By the 18th century, a use was applied to harnesses or equipment used with horses. Modern use in football comes from the sport of rugby. In any such case, the ball becomes dead, the down is over, a tackle is known as a quarterback sack when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage while attempting to throw a pass. A tackle for loss indicates a tackle that causes a loss of yardage for the running back or wide receiver. When a player who does not have the ball is taken down it is referred to as a block. Tackles can also be made by grabbing the ball carriers jersey, as mentioned above, the referee can declare that a play is dead if the ball carriers forward progress has been stopped, even if he has not actually been taken to the ground. To protect players from potentially catastrophic injury, there are restrictions on tackles. At no time may a defensive player tackle a player by grabbing the facemask of their helmet, doing so incurs a 15-yard penalty. A similar penalty is assessed to any player attempting to contact with his helmet against another opponents helmet. Grabbing a ball carrier by the pads behind his neck and pulling him down is known as a horse collar, a method which has been made illegal at all levels of American football. However, in the NFL a player can continue forward for one step, place kickers and punters are afforded an even greater protection from being tackled. Once the play is ruled complete, no contact is permitted, a player who makes contact with an opponent after the play is charged with unnecessary roughness and his team is assessed a 15-yard penalty. However, a player who plays on the line can block below the knees as long the block is five yards of the line. In the National Football League, tackles are tracked as a statistic by a scorekeeper hired by the home team
12.
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
