He's got to take care of the football

Devlin Hodges will start the regular-season finale for the Steelers with a playoff berth on the line. It will be Hodges’ fifth consecutive start, but he likely wouldn’t be in the lineup if not for a shoulder injury that ended Mason Rudolph‘s season.

The Steelers benched Hodges on Sunday.

Hodges has thrown interceptions on four of his past five possessions over two games, according to Chris Adamski of triblive.com. Six of Hodges’ eight interceptions this season have come over the past six quarters he’s played.

“Does it matter?” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, via Adamski, when asked whether the interceptions were poor decisions or bad throws. ““You know, seriously, we’ve got to take care of the football. You can make a bad decision – but [with] a ridiculous, awesome throw, it’s irrelevant. You know what I mean? So I mean that in all sincerity – we’ve got take care of the football, and some of that minutiae is less important about intentions relative to performance.”

Hodges has one touchdown, six interceptions and a 41.7 passer rating in his past two games. He threw only two interceptions in his first five NFL appearances, including three starts.

“There’s nothing wrong with his preparation; there’s nothing wrong with his approach and his attitude and things of that nature,” Tomlin said. “But [whether he’ll perform better] won’t get answered until we get into the stadium. I can trick myself in terms of seeking comfort and looking for clues and things of that nature, [but] we are not in that world.”

In tiny Bartlett, football retains big dreams

When Barbara Sandobal opened Rustic Café on Clark Street in downtown Bartlett two months ago, she had more in mind than selling her delicious hand-made burgers.

The 71-year-old Bartlett wanted to do her part in rejuvenating the nearly empty downtown, whose red-brick streets and early 20th-century architecture draws a handful of tourists on the weekends.

“I opened this, really, to put another business in town,” she said on recent weekday afternoon as a handful of customers ate lunch or a $1 Bluebell ice-cream cone. “It's good some days and other days, it's very slow. We'll probably rearrange some of our hours to accommodate people at the football game when school gets going. But we're going to stick with it, because we figure it's going to get better.”

That type of attitude pervades the fieldhouse at Bartlett High School on the other side of this cotton-farming town that straddles the line of Williamson and Bell counties. The proud program — Bartlett won three state titles in the 1990s – has struggled in recent years on the field and with enrollment; the Bulldogs have won just four games over the past three seasons, and the student population has dropped from 125 in 2012 to its current UIL number of 94 students.

Bartlett is the smallest school in the Austin area and became eligible to play six-man football this past realignment. However, the program's players and coaches have no interest in a game that senior Roy Degollado says “isn't real football.”

“I've heard of it, but I thought it was something you play on the playground,” said Degollado, a four-year starter at linebacker and on the offensive line whose father and cousins played for the powerhouse Bartlett squads in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Second-year coach Drew Bridges, a 31-year-old who has already worked in schools ranging from his small hometown of Ganado to Class 6A's Katy Mayde Creek, shares his captain's opinion.

“I wouldn't have come here if they were going to play six-man,” he said. “The community here supports 11-man. Now, we know the challenges that comes with that, but I believe that we're starting to put some things in place that will allow us to compete and be successful. There's a lot of schools in our state that play 11-man with our numbers and do well.”

Bridges has already taken significant steps toward such success. In a school with less than 50 boys, almost 40 participate in the football program. Bridges re-established a junior varsity team last season after Bartlett went years with just a varsity squad, and he says that experience helped the varsity last season when a few injuries cut into the Bartlett lineup.

“Right after that first (JV) game, boy, they were excited,” he said. “They had so much fun. And they played the whole time. And then some came up (to varsity) and helped us, and they wouldn't have been ready for that f they didn't have that JV experience.”

Growth in the school as well as the town may soon creep up as more and more people that work in Austin seek affordable housing. Taylor, 16 miles south of Bartlett, has had its high-school enrollment grow from 882 in 2012 to its current UIL number of 1,024. Just 12 miles west of Bartlett, Jarrell High School' student population has almost doubled over the past 10 years.

“We've gotten smaller, but the corridor is pushing out this way,” Sandobal said. “And I hope people start taking an interest in these (downtown) buildings and fixing them up. It wouldn't be that difficult for the town to come alive again.”

10 things to look out for this weekend

1) Van Dijk finally making his Liverpool bow

If there is one message that Jürgen Klopp has to drum into his defenders before Friday night's Merseyside derby, it is to resist the temptation to place their hands on any Everton attackers in their own area. Manage that and Liverpool should be capable of extinguishing the frustration of last month's draw with Sam Allardyce's side, when Dejan Lovren conceded a late penalty with a needless and clumsy push on Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Klopp turned on plenty of people after the game – even a member of Everton's press team was in the firing line after Wayne Rooney's penalty – but Lovren was the real culprit and it is telling that Liverpool have bolstered their defence by spending £75m on Virgil van Dijk. Having scored once in their past four matches, Everton could find goals even harder to come by if Van Dijk is ready to make his debut. Jacob Steinberg

2) Derby fans left high and dry by scheduling

Any Derby supporters hoping to get the train back to the Midlands on Friday night will have to leave the away end at Old Trafford at half-time. Ridiculously, the last feasible train journey to Derby (via Sheffield) leaves Manchester Piccadilly at 9.22pm, midway through the second half. To make matter worse, a train previously advertised as leaving at 11pm is no longer running – East Midlands Trains were forced to apologise for “an error in the national Network Rail train planning system” – meaning there will likely be plenty of people stranded in Manchester on Friday night. The good news: those that bought tickets for the 11pm will be entitled to a free refund. The bad news: they won't be able to get home. The draw was made in early December. How has this shambles been allowed to happen? Michael Butler

3) Dyche going toe-to-toe with Guardiola?

Burnley wasted a golden chance to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup last season when Lincoln City became the first non-league team in 103 years to reach the last eight of the competition. In the third round this year, Sean Dyche's team face a tougher task: a trip to Manchester City. But while Pep Guardiola will almost certainly use Saturday's game as a chance to rest key personnel with league titles and the Champions League still to come, Dyche would be unwise to follow suit. Just as a weakened Leicester side came unstuck at Millwall in the fifth round last year, too often Premier League sides play their second string when they are clear of relegation danger and have nothing else to play for. Get through this tough tie, and Burnley have a genuine chance of winning the FA Cup – after all, the league table says they are the seventh best team in England. Dyche should go for glory – three points at Crystal Palace a week on Saturday doesn't matter nearly as much. MB

4) Bristol City need right balance before Etihad trip

In different circumstances it would be tempting to make Bristol City favourites to win at Vicarage Road on Saturday afternoon. The team who stunned Manchester United last month have already performed heroics in the Carabao Cup, reaching the last four after putting out four Premier League sides, and that giantkilling run began with a 3-2 victory away to Watford in August. Yet Lee Johnson has some tough decisions to make before facing Marco Silva's inconsistent side. Not only are his team chasing promotion from the Championship, he also has to keep his players fresh before they visit Manchester City for the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final next Tuesday. Do not expect Johnson to wave the white flag, especially as Watford are vulnerable after a poor run of form, but finding the right balance will not be easy. JS

5) VAR may stir passions in Monday night derby

All eyes on the Amex on Monday night for the preposterously scheduled 7.45pm kick-off between rivals Brighton and Crystal Palace. During the match, Neil Swarbrick will be making history from a studio near Heathrow, becoming the first Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to be used in an English competitive club match. Surrounded by approximately 70 screens to aid him, Swarbrick will be able to liaise with the match referee, Andre Marriner, if a clear error has been made regarding goals, penalties, straight red cards and cases of mistaken identity. Two stewards were taken to hospital when Brighton and Palace met in the Premier League in November – the FA could hardly have chosen a more fiery fixture for their latest innovation. MB

6) More woe for Pellegrino against Fulham?

It is strange to think that Southampton were preparing for a League Cup semi-final against Liverpool this time last year. They still felt like the perfect example of a modern, well-run club 12 months ago. They remained comfortable in mid-table despite being hit by so much upheaval, and beating Liverpool over two legs seemed to offer further vindication of Southampton's vision. Since then, however, drift has taken hold and Mauricio Pellegrino is under immense pressure after Tuesday night's defeat to Crystal Palace pitched his directionless team firmly into a relegation battle. The constant talent drain has taken a toll, sapping Southampton's spirit, and it will not go down as a shock if Fulham further loosen Pellegrino's grip on his job by beating the Premier League strugglers at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon. JS

7) Mir to make his mark at Molineux

Top of the Championship meets bottom of the Premier League – it will come as a surprise to nobody that Wolves are favourites to beat Swansea on Saturday. What will be interesting to see is if manager Nuno Espírito Santo utilises his new £1.8m signing Rafa Mir, who this week turned down a move to Real Madrid to play in England's second tier. Mir has been handed the No9 shirt at Molineux and a match against a Swansea defence bereft of confidence could be the perfect way to bed him in. If the 20-year-old scores on debut, all the better to give competition to the first-choice forward Léo Bonatini, who hasn't scored in a month. If Mir has a stinker, at least it won't affect Wolves' push for promotion. MB

8) Wimbledon fans soaking up Wembley return

Wimbledon have an excellent record at Wembley. On their last outing in the League Two play-off final in 2015-16, they beat Plymouth 2-0. In 2008, they won a pre-season friendly 8-1 to mark the 125th anniversary of Corinthian Casuals. The club's previous visit to that, albeit under a slightly different name, ended with them winning the FA Cup in 1988, 30 years ago. Whatever the score is when they play Tottenham at Wembley on Sunday, the trip from one side of London to another will be a nostalgic one for the thousands of travelling away fans. When they marched up Wembley Way before the final in '88, Wimbledon fans had to endure opposition fans pre-emptively wearing ‘Liverpool FC Double Winners' T-shirts. This time, AFC fans will be wearing a smile as wide as Wembley's arch and maybe even a limited-edition ‘We Are The Resurrection' T-shirt. MB

9) Pardew risks further pain by resting players

The Alan Pardew bounce is yet to materialise for West Bromwich Albion. Tuesday's painful defeat to West Ham means it is 20 games since their last victory and their new manager has been unable to ease their relegation fears. Goal difference alone is keeping West Brom off the bottom of the Premier League and after a draining run of fixtures, Pardew must be tempted to rest players for Saturday's trip to Exeter City. But that would be a huge gamble from a manager whose team desperately needs a win to start repairing their battered confidence. Defeat to the League Two side would only deepen the gloom and the danger is that another disappointment could still be on West Brom's mind when they host Brighton on Saturday week. JS

10) Cardiff look to bounce back against Stags

Cardiff have had a rotten Christmas, losing their last four matches in the Championship. Remarkably, they have only slipped one place to third – thanks to rivals Bristol City losing heavily at Aston Villa – but they are just a couple more bad results away from falling out of the play-off places. Confidence is key, and whilse Neil Warnock's assertion last week that Sol Bamba is a better defender than Virgil van Dijk has done nothing but heap more pressure on one of his key players, a clean sheet and comfortable win against League Two Mansfield could get his side back on the promotion trail. MB

Forget the football

Type in Uefa and the word “racism” into Google, and prominent search results tell us the view of European football's governing body. Uefa wants us to know it says no to racism. In fact, in 2013, its member associations “pledged to step up their efforts to eliminate racism from football” altogether. It's all rather grand, but what we know is that in recent weeks Uefa's self-congratulatory stance has been greatly undermined. Revelations from the England Under-17s World Cup-winning forward Rhian Brewster have once again highlighted the perniciousness of the problem.

Brewster's experience of racist abuse represents unacceptable treatment of a young man just trying to do his job. The player has been praised for unequivocally relating his experiences, which have been free from the euphemism so many would have preferred the shadow home secretary Diane Abbott to adopt when she shared that, last year, she had been called a “n----- bitch”.

In an interview with my colleague Daniel Taylor for the Guardian, Brewster frankly outlined the racist abuse he both witnessed and suffered while playing for Liverpool in Uefa Youth League matches and for England. Called the N-word and subjected to monkey chants, the 17-year-old has understandably lost faith in Uefa, whose responses to these incidents have been pitiful or nonexistent.

Uefa says it encourages referees to “stop, suspend or even abandon a game if racist incidents occur”. Players found guilty of racist behaviour can receive a 10-match suspension, and stadiums can face closure if this applies to fans. Uefa recognises the power it has to drastically change the experiences of young black players. However, for now at least, it seems disinclined to use it. It is an obvious dereliction of duty. The hope is that today – the first day its offices have been open since 22 December – the governing body will stir itself into more forceful action.

Slogans, though easy to cobble together and flash at millions of people, are empty. Like a sticking plaster for a virus, their flimsiness is obvious when set against the task of healing. It is a lesson the Italian football league painfully learned last October. The president of Lazio football club, Claudio Lotito, had players wearing T-shirts declaring “no to antisemitism” accompanied by a picture of Anne Frank. An excerpt of her diary was read at every Italian league match during the same week. Yet some Lazio fans sang fascist songs while making salutes during the reading. The horrified prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni, called the scenes unacceptable. Quite. The trouble is in how governing bodies, clubs, fellow players and not least the fans act in solidarity to underscore that such behaviour is intolerable.

One way to do so is by not distancing the English game, run by the FA, from the routine instances of racism experienced by black and minority-ethnic (BAME) players. To focus solely on Uefa's failings is to miss the point of Brewster's interventions entirely. Yes, much progress has been made: in Brewster's interview it is clear he hasn't experienced in England racist abuse of the kind encountered in matches against Russian and Spanish teams. Still, players continue to walk out on English pitches subjected to such abuse. Anecdotally, others refuse to sign to the youth wings of certain clubs because of the rampant racism associated with their fans.

BAME players make up a quarter of players in English football's four divisions yet account for a miserable 4% of senior coaches. It is the same footballing establishment that last October couldn't admit it had failed in its duty of care to the England player Eniola Aluko. And it is the same leadership that couldn't quite bring itself to find anything wrong with racist texts sent “privately” between Iain Moody, now Colchester's head of player resources, and Malky Mackay, currently caretaker manager of Scotland and the performance director of the Scottish Football Association. The controversy eventually blew over, and both white men's careers in football continued, once the word “banter” was used to explain their seemingly indefensible interactions.

The one thing missing from the festive football

“Why have you got a set of orange footballs?” asked my son as we went through my Subbuteo collection. “Just in case it snows,” I replied, safe in the knowledge that a game of table football has never been called off due to the weather. The joke was lost on him – he had no idea what I was talking about. In an era when you can seemingly buy any colour of ball you want, the significance of an orange ball appears to have bypassed a whole generation of fans. For them, the sight of an orange ball on a snow-covered pitch would probably be met with apathy. What's so special about a coloured ball?

Yet there was a time when a mere dusting of snow would send schoolboys up and down the country giddy with excitement at the thought of being able to use a ball that otherwise lay dormant at the bottom of their cupboards for the rest of the year. I remember forcing a relative out into a blizzard on a cold Saturday night in the late 1970s just so I could use my orange – albeit plastic – ball in the conditions for which it was intended. This excitement was equalled, if not bettered, when such a ball made an appearance at an actual match, generating a buzz around the ground the moment it was produced by the referee.

Perhaps it was the feeling that you were about to witness something out of the norm that heightened expectations but such games were inevitably more entertaining than those played the week before (although this had probably more to do with the weather conditions than the ball itself ). It also helped that a fair share of FA Cup giantkillings took place on a frozen pitch in front of the TV cameras with an orange football, which further added to the mythology.

Surprisingly, the novelty value was still going strong 40 years after the idea of fielding an alternative to the, at the time, new-fangled white ball during the winter months was first mooted by the Football League. The sight of Kasey Keller trying to come to grips with a tangerine ball when a blizzard blew up before a south London derby between Millwall and Charlton Athletic provided much hilarity at The Den in December 1995. And the press went into overdrive when Chelsea played Tromso of Norway in arctic conditions during their triumphant 1997-98 Cup Winners' Cup campaign. However, by then such sightings had become sporadic to say the least.

A succession of increasingly mild winters during the 1980s, coupled with improvements in under-soil heating, made the need for a “snow” ball all but redundant. Even when it did snow heavily, legions of fans would be employed to sweep the stuff off the pitch. Gone were the days when they only ever bothered with the touchlines. By the end of the millennium a new “hi-vis” yellow alternative that had been introduced for when the clocks went back had seemingly replaced the orange ball altogether.

A decade later and games were being called off not because of frozen pitches but due to “health and safety” concerns relating to the frozen concourses by clubs worried about possible legal action. As a result, the opportunities for using a bright orange ball have been few and far between, even though the official ball suppliers to both the Premier and Football Leagues still produce a version for use on snow-covered pitches.

Lowa football embraces the graduate transfer craze

This may make me a rare bird (or a birdbrain) in these parts, but I prefer pro sports over the college variety.

Don't get me wrong. I watch more college football than NFL on television. It's a wackier game, and more emotional. Plus, it's played in weirder locations than the pro variety. You'd never have heard of Tuscaloosa, Clemson or Norman were it not for their football powerhouses.

And, it's on at 11 p.m. on a Saturday, when I'm unwinding after covering a game at 11 a.m. on a Saturday.

Basketball-wise, if it's a regular-season game I usually have little interest in either the NBA or NCAA versions unless it's meaningful to doing my job. If it's an NBA playoff game or an NCAA tournament game, though, gimmee.

No, I like pro sports more because they don't pretend to be something noble. They're entertainment. They're raw commerce.

The players are the stars, not the coaches. Which means the players have certain amounts of leverage. Which is how the world should work. The people who draw the crowds get paid.

So I like the graduate-transfer rule in college sports. If you have earned a degree and still have athletic eligibility left, you can transfer somewhere if you continue your education there.

It's a watered-down version of free agency. Were I emperor of the world, all players could immediately play elsewhere the following season if they so chose. It would be chaos, and the players would be kings.

But that will never happen because the power is the power, and the power never has any intention of ceding the power. So, let's savor grad transfers. Iowa has certainly begun to do just that.

The Hawkeyes have dipped into the graduate-transfer pool again, with the addition of former New Mexico wide receiver Nick Quarells.

This is a relatively new avenue for Kirk Ferentz's program, but one it seems to now be embracing. Last year, the Hawkeyes welcomed punter Ron Coluzzi from Central Michigan, and he worked out beautifully for them.

Recently, Iowa added running back James Butler. Nice get. Butler is coming off two straight 1,300-yard rushing seasons at Nevada.

Quarells is a graduate with two seasons of eligibility left. That's a sweet deal for an Iowa program that desperately needs ball-catchers.

Quarells had 11 catches for 180 yards and a touchdown last season for the Lobos. That's more career catches in itself than any wide receiver on Iowa's roster other than Matt VandeBerg.

Graduate transfers have been a significant part of the college basketball landscape for the last few years. Iowa State has added Hans Brase of Princeton, Jeff Beverly of Texas-San Antonio and Zoran Talley of Old Dominion this year alone.

Grad transfers have become more of a thing in college football lately, it seems.

Purdue has gained a half-dozen grad transfers since Jeff Brohm became coach after last season. They have arrived from Baylor, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Rhode Island, Northern Illinois and Western Kentucky.

Northwestern added offensive lineman Trey Klock from Georgia Tech and receiver Jalen Brown from Oregon.

Rutgers secured quarterback Kyle Bolin from Louisville, fullback Gus Edwards from Miami, and receiver Damon Mitchell from Arkansas.

Graduate transfer Chris Laviano left Rutgers for to play quarterback at San Diego State. That tells the world he not only is a college graduate, but he has common sense.

Memphis football is back – and it's a blast

Riley Ferguson has figured it out. He has figured out what it feels like to walk on to the football field and see Anthony Miller out there, ready to catch anything, and to see Phil Mayhue lined up on the other side, poised to make a defense pay for doubling Miller. To have Doroland Dorceus lined up behind him, or maybe Darrell Henderson, or possibly Tony Pollard. To have Sam Craft on his offensive team, as well as Damonte Coxie and Patrick Taylor.

"It's unbelievable, honestly," Ferguson said. "I'm like a little kid in the backyard with the best players in the neighborhood."

The best players in the neighborhood. And a coach who can draw up plays in the dirt as well as anyone.

So welcome to Memphis football, 2017. It's going to be good, yes. But it's also going to be something many people never thought Memphis football could be.

Fun. A blast. A wildly-entertaining civic happening.

Memphis football has become what Memphis basketball once was, what Grizzlies basketball has been for the last seven years.

"It's the best thing I've ever done in my life," Ferguson said. "I love it, being the quarterback at Memphis."

This is how everyone talks about the program these days, even if they're not the quarterback. The fans talk this way. The players talk this way.

Here's Spencer Smith, the punter: "It's fun every day, even if we're in there, and they're kicking our butts on the field or in the weight room. It's just fun to be here and be around this group of guys and around this coaching staff. It's fun every day regardless of what we're doing."

Much of the fun comes from winning games, of course. That's a prerequisite. But at least some of it comes from the way the Tigers win them.

They fling the ball all over the place. They set records upon records.

Last year, with a brand new coach and a brand new quarterback, Memphis racked up 6,028 yards (second all-time), 505 points (second all-time), 57 touchdowns (second all-time) and 34 touchdown passes (first all-time).

And, yes, the game of football is very different than it used to be. But it wasn't so long ago (2013, 2011 and 2010, to be exact) that the Tigers averaged 19.5, 16.2 and 14.4 points a game. Last year, they averaged 38.8 points a game, and this year could be even better.

"Definitely," Dorceus said. "We left a lot of plays, we left a lot of yards, touchdowns, off little mistakes that we made, not that the other team made, that we made. If we fix that, that's another 1,000 yards for us that we left out there."

Said Pollard: "If I played defense, I would be scared going against us because on offense, we have an unlimited number of players that we can go to and rely on in game-time situations."

Pollard is a perfect example of this. Along with Henderson, he may be the fastest player on the team. He showed that last year when he scored two touchdowns on kickoffs. But at receiver, he shares time with Miller (who had 95 catches for 1,434 yards and 14 touchdowns last year) and Mayhue (a 6-3 monster who catches everything) and Craft (who has already scored 17 touchdowns over the course of his career) and Coxie (who may have the best physical tools of any of them).

At running back, Pollard has to fit in with Dorceus (who has 1,881 career rushing yards) Henderson (who is simply electric) and Taylor (a 6-3 battering ram who was second in rushing as a freshman).

So you understand why Ferguson is so pumped, and why fans are pumped right along with him.

"There's literally nothing a defense can do to be right if the quarterback makes the right decision," Ferguson said. "The defense can never be right. There's always an answer no matter what the defense does. Literally, there's nothing the defense can do as long as we're on the same page and make the right decisions."

So here's to being on the same page in 2017. And here's to making the right decisions. And here's to the return of Memphis football, which is suddenly the most fun team in the neighborhood.

Familiar names will be seen all over college football in 2017

As it happens, Miami football players Scott Patchan and Vincent Testaverde took the same geography class their first semester on campus. After class wrapped one day, professor Thomas Boswell called them both down.

"I recognize you two," he told them. "You're spitting images of your dads."

Patchan and Testaverde had heard stories about their dads their entire lives, but the vast majority centered around what made their fathers famous: football exploits at a time when Miami began its rise as a national power. Vinny Testaverde won the Heisman Trophy at Miami and became the No. 1 overall pick in the 1987 NFL draft; Matt Patchan blocked for him on the offensive line.

Now the two younger Miami football players stood listening to stories about what their dads were like inside the classroom, insight they never would have gotten had they been anywhere else.

"I have a lot of teachers at Miami that have tenure and taught my dad. It's very funny," Scott Patchan said recently. "Apparently, my dad was very smart in the way he could retain information. That's cool to understand. I'm the same way."

That experience is not exclusive to Patchan and Testaverde. Four players currently on the Miami roster have fathers who starred with the Hurricanes, all during the team's championship run in the 1980s. ESPN 300 prospect Al Blades Jr., whose late father, Al Sr., and two uncles played at Miami, recently committed to sign in the Class of 2018.

Many other legacy players across the country have also chosen to play where their fathers did, highlighted in recent years by Christian McCaffrey, Barry J. Sanders and Marlon Humphrey.

The list is long, and the questions the players get are always the same. Rather than feel any pressure to match or surpass what their fathers did, the seven players interviewed for this piece described a sense of love, tradition and familiarity, as well as the idea that the place where Dad set his footsteps is the only place that feels like home.

"Why are they saying my name, dad?"

Every player whose father played big-time football has an a-ha moment when he realizes his dad is more than just ... Dad. For Miami tight end Michael Irvin II, the moment happened when he was a youngster, when he was in the car with his NFL Hall of Fame father.

"We were driving, and he had a Mercedes. He had the top down, and people were screaming, 'Michael! Michael! Michael!' And I asked him, 'Why are they saying my name, dad?' And he said, 'You're a superstar!'"

When young Michael got home and relayed the story to his mother, she broke the news to him.

"They were saying your dad's name," she told him.

Puzzled, Michael asked why. "Your dad is a famous football player."

Kirk Johnson and Collin Johnson knew that their dad, Johnnie, played football at Texas in the late 1970s. But they did not realize what a remarkable player he was until 2007, when Johnnie took his family with him to New York to attend the College Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

"Seeing the way my dad was treated and seeing his Hall of Fame plaque and hearing his name called out on the stage, it was unreal," Collin Johnson said. "That's when my eyes were opened, and I'm sure Kirk's and my whole family as well."

At a banquet that weekend, then-Texas coach Mack Brown made an even bigger impression. As Johnnie Johnson recalls it, Brown told the audience, "I want you to know that all three of the Johnson kids have standing scholarship offers to the University of Texas, and they can play any sport they want to play." That included daughter Camille.

"I can't tell you the impact he had on our family," Johnnie Johnson said. "Those comments Coach Brown made in that public setting, that planted a seed."

But he also knew his children had to work for those scholarships, and he continued to teach them the intangibles that he said make athletes successful.

Kirk Johnson ended up a four-star running back in the Class of 2015. Collin Johnson was rated an ESPN 300 receiver in the Class of 2016. This fall, Camille will join her brothers at Texas as a javelin thrower on the track and field team.

"It's just something in our blood"

Kirk Johnson's favorite color is orange. It has been that way since he was 3 years old.

Although they might not have recognized their dads as famous football players until they got older, with television sets tuned to their fathers' alma maters on Saturdays, these legacy players knew exactly where their loyalties stood at an early age.

"Ever since I really knew what football was, I always wanted to put on burnt orange and play for Texas," Kirk Johnson said.

That idea grew after Texas won the national championship in 2005.

"When they won the national championship, we were jumping all over the living room," Collin Johnson said. "Me and Kirk instantly envisioned ourselves playing on that stage at UT."

For Tennessee defensive back Todd Kelly Jr., memories of watching the Volunteers on Saturdays remain vivid. His father played at Tennessee in the early 1990s and settled down in the Knoxville area. The family had season tickets, so until Kelly became a recruit, he had been to every Tennessee home game.

As one of the top prospects in the nation in the Class of 2014, he took multiple official visits to other campuses, including Alabama, Florida and Georgia. But Todd Jr. couldn't find a better place than the one in his backyard. He has three teammates whose fathers also played at Tennessee.

"With the Kelly Jr. on the back of my jersey, it meant a lot to my family, my friends," Todd Jr. said. "Playing for Tennessee each and every year, I know how much it means because I used to sit on the couch and watch the boys playing every Saturday. Just to know there are kids looking up to me like I looked up to the former players means a lot, and that's why I work hard for Tennessee every day."

Al Blades Jr. lost his father in a car accident when he was 3 years old, but there was no way he would grow up without Miami in his life. Not only did his uncles Bennie and Brian play at Miami, but his large, extended family also remains in South Florida and continues to root on the Canes.

"It's just something in our blood, not something they forced down your throat," Al Jr. said. "Whenever a UM game was on, you were just there watching it. You don't really realize that you're being groomed to become a diehard Cane, but at the end of the day, that's what it becomes."

"... the odds are against players that go to their dad's school"

Family names are impossible to ignore, and that becomes harder for legacy players as they begin playing football and get recruited. Imagine the pressure when outsiders automatically expect you to be a carbon copy of your famous parent.

"Of course, there was a lot of extra pressure," Michael Irvin II said. "I would have liked to have gone and seen a bunch more places, but some of them didn't offer me because they thought, 'Oh, he's going to Miami.' Everybody was telling me, 'Oh, we can't wait to see you at Miami.'"

Patrick Bethel had a similar experience when he started the recruiting process. He piled up offers from Alabama, Tennessee, Clemson and dozens of others as an ESPN 300 defensive line prospect, but he would always hear: "You're going to Miami. Your dad went there."

Randy Bethel, who won national championships with Miami in 1987 and 1989, tried to stay out of his son's recruitment process. Patrick eventually chose his father's alma mater, but he insists that the decision was his alone.

"I almost got tired of hearing it. I was like, 'Dude, you're not in my head. You don't know what's going on.' Yeah, I knew he went here. It was very cool. He's got his two rings. He knows what it takes, but it's been both a blessing and a curse in terms of people bringing it up all the time. I don't know why it's so hard for people to believe it, but it wasn't much of a factor because I'm my own person."

Football in dark ages over homophobia

Football risks "being left in the dark ages" unless more is done to tackle homophobia in the game, ex-Wales rugby star Gareth Thomas has said.

Thomas came out as gay in 2009 after hiding his sexuality for years.

He admitted it almost drove him to suicide after his wife Jemma left him when he told her the truth.

Thomas said unless homophobia in football was "policed as stringently as racism is policed, then it will always be a problem".

Thursday marks 50 years since the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality between men aged 21 and over in England and Wales.

The former Cardiff Blues player looked at the issue in a documentary for BBC Wales.

There have been no openly gay professional footballers in the top four divisions since former Norwich striker Justin Fashanu in 1990, who killed himself in 1998.

Thomas spoke to Amal Fashanu, Justin's niece, who made a documentary on the issue in 2012.

"In that five years, from talking to her, absolutely nothing has changed," he said.

A spokesman for the FA said the governing body was "committed to tackling homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in football at every level of the game".

Wales' governing body - the FAW - has been asked for comment.

In recent years, ex-Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger and former Leeds United and United States player Robbie Rogers have revealed they are gay.

Hitzlsperger had retired and Rogers plays in the US' Major League Soccer.

In 2015, 2% of UK men identified as gay or bisexual but none of the approximately 5,000 professional footballers have publicly come out.

Thomas said they would be "walking into the unknown" as governing bodies had not done enough "to create an environment for a player to feel like he can be himself".

While great efforts have been made to tackle racism, Thomas said homophobia was not treated as seriously.

He spoke to a steward who had thrown out a fan for using racist language and asked him if he would have done the same had he used a gay slur.

"His honest answer, which is the truth of it, was very much the case he doubts it would have been," he said.

While those throughout the game have supported efforts to rid football of racism, Thomas said "you'll struggle to get a single player to openly talk about his support against homophobia because he stands the backlash of guilt by association.

"It does feel like football is not ready for it. If a player is ready it could be a great success or it could be a great disaster.

"I think they need reassurance that everything will be OK and they'll be judged on their footballing ability and not their sexuality."

The FA said it worked with leagues, LGBT clubs and campaign groups to sanction and educate perpetrators of abuse and encouraged "players to be themselves and support their teammates to do likewise".

Thomas said while there was "no excuse" for homophobic language, he thought some fans singing anti-gay chants felt "they can be somebody who, on the outside of that stadium, would be somebody that they might look down their nose at".

He believes change must come from the top of the game: "Unless football wants to be left behind in the dark ages then it has to [improve].

"But until it's policed as stringently as racism is policed, then it will always be a problem."

Football on front foot to halt junior decline

A number of initiatives are being put in place to stop the drop in teenagers playing football in the South West.

On Wednesday, July 12 a meeting was held between senior and junior football stakeholders to address a decline in junior football, which has seen the number of teams from Year 7 to Year 11 in the South West Junior Football League drop from 51 teams in 2012 to 42.

The most alarming drop has been in the Year 11 competition, which has gone from 10 teams to just four.

South West Football League executive Shaun Quaife, one of the driving forces behind the meeting, said the attendance of more than 50 people showed there was concern for the sport in the region.

"The clubs as well as junior and senior associations are genuinely concerned," he said.

"There is a sense of urgency from the clubs that we really need to address this."

A number of plans and initiatives have already been put in place since the meeting, including having more footballs at training.

Each club is also set to appoint a coaching coordinator ahead of next season to support the junior coaches.

"There needs to be more support and up-skilling of our junior coaches," Quaife said.

"We need to provide more engaging training to keep them working on their football skills."

Quaife said only half the junior players made the transition to senior football.

He said the stakeholders were aiming to increase that to 70 per cent

"If you look at it in terms of a Statewide issue, well we are no worse off than any other competition, but we really want to address it," Quaife said.

"We have strong numbers coming from our Year 8 teams and we want to address this. We need to provide a more engaging package so they stay in football."

Another meeting is set to be held in August.

Holy Cross High School alum's family saves teen football phenom's dreams of gridiron glory

A 14-year-old football phenom's dreams of gridiron glory were saved Sunday thanks to a Hail Mary of generosity from the family of an alum.

Tyriek Dodd received a $50,000 scholarship that will allow him to continue playing wide receiver for the Holy Cross High School Knights. After his father's death last year, the teen and his family had no way to pay his tuition.

The money came courtesy of the friends and family of Rudy Krizan, who excelled in both sports and academics at Holy Cross, and who died last year of pancreatic cancer at the age of 67.

Tyriek — who is already 6-foot-5 and 195 lbs. — shared his gratitude to Krizan's widow, Patty Reimerdes, and said he intends to make plays for his dad and Krizan.

"I have someone to play for now — my father and her husband — I have someone on my shoulder and I'm going to take that with pride," Dodd said.

"It feels like I know what I'm going to do because before I wasn't sure I was even going to go to school a couple months ago."

On Sunday, before the Knights triumphed 20-14 in overtime against the St. John the Baptist Cougars, Dodd met Reimerdes, 64, for the first time.

"I think this was a God thing — Rudy passes and his father passes," Reimerdes said. "This was meant to be."

Dodd's father, Clement Seymour Dodd Jr., died Feb. 5, 2015, at age 57, from sarcoma after three years of fighting the rare form of cancer.

The loss left the playmaker without his role model.

"He was only male figure I had in the family," said Tyriek, who has three older sisters.

"I'm the only son in the family, so he played a big part in who I am."

Tyriek's mother worried about how she would keep her son in the Catholic school in Queens after her husband died.

"I'm very proud of him. I can't put it into words as a mom, but I am very proud of him," said Natalie Dodd, 50.

"Receiving the scholarship is a blessing itself 'cause Tyriek is a bright, intelligent, loving kid and the scholarship he received let me appreciate more that people really see him how I see him as a mom."

Tyriek uses his father's early death as fuel on the field.

"It was very difficult for him and I feel like Tyriek used that as a push to continue to work hard both academically and in sports," said his sister Alieghcia Dodd, 23.

Knights coach Tim Smith praised Tyriek's big hands, team spirit, hard work in practice and coachability.

"I really think he's going to be an unbelievable football player," Smith said.

"A lot of people are going to be talking about this kid."

Smith recalled that Tyriek never once mentioned that his father had died. He didn't learn of the tragedy until Tyriek's mother confided in the coach about the financial strain the death had put on the family.

"I immediately tried to make efforts to try and help the family," Smith said.

"I think the friends and family of Rudy Krizan couldn't have picked a better kid."

Reimerdes said her husband — known by friends as "Rude the Dude" — would be proud to know a scholarship in his name is helping a teen like Tyriek.

"I felt Rudy when I hugged him," Reimerdes said. "Rudy would be so happy."

"Holy Cross was his family — Rudy was an only child and he felt like all these men were his brothers. The bond like you've never seen a bond at Holy Cross."

She said many of Krizan's friends were eager to contribute to the fund named for the well-read man.

"He would be so happy to know that this young man is playing football on the same fields Rudy played football and sitting in the classrooms Rudy sat in," Reimerdes said.

"We're two families that have become one."

One of those who contributed to the fund was Al Hagan, a former FDNY captain who was also president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association for many years until he recently retired.

Hagan recalled his reaction when he saw the towering teen who scored the scholarship.

"He's 14?" he exclaimed.

After chatting with Tyriek, Hagan said he couldn't have been more pleased with the choice.

"My friend Rudy was a great guy, and he would really have appreciated the hustle that Tyriek has," he said.

Unwritten rules of football that need to go

NFL broadcasts and coaching news conferences are full of football proverbs. Very often, these are simply explanations for a why a situation demanded avoiding risk, or at least delaying it. And very often, the numbers -- while not perfect -- tell us otherwise.

In many cases, these unwritten laws of coaching and game management in football are more a function of history and tradition without a space for self-reevaluation or change. That's not acceptable. Teams who spend all week looking for the tiniest little competitive advantages abandon them when given the opportunity to impact a game. That's a waste, and it's time for a change.

Let's run through some of these close scenarios and explain why the traditional method of thinking about them is antiquated. Starting with a classic ...

Never take points off the board.

Points are valuable! Of course we want points! And when you have to battle for 60 yards, then turn to a questionable kicker who narrowly sneaks one through the uprights, the last thing you want to do as a coach is repeat this process while running the risk of coming away with no points. The possibility of scoring seven points, though, should make three seem much less valuable.

There are obvious situations in which teams should keep their points -- to tie or take the lead in a close game, for one -- but early in a game, when the only goal should be to score as many points as possible, coaches need to be open to the idea of leaving their offense on the field to score a touchdown. Since kickers are better than ever before and turnover rates are at their lowest since 1932, the chances are slim that an offense will take three off the board and end up with zero.

Let's use the expected points model that underpins ESPN's QBR metrics. Here's a simple scenario: It's early in the second quarter of a 7-7 game with league-average offenses and defenses. Your kicker hits a field goal on fourth-and-2, but the defense is offside, giving you a first down if so inclined. Here's how many points your team would expect to score with a new set of downs from each given yard line:

These numbers account for the risk of turning the ball over or not scoring at all versus the reward of scoring a touchdown. In a vacuum, when you expect to score more than three points from a given yard line, you should wipe the field goal off the board and go back out on offense. Just about every feasible situation in which you would be kicking a field goal seems to suggest that taking the points off of the board is the superior option. Even if you are conservative and have an subpar field goal kicker, a new set of downs would most likely get you inside the 30-yard line. Send your quarterback back out there, coach.

Never throw when you're running a four-minute offense to kill clock.

Thirty years ago, when quarterbacks were throwing farther downfield and completing a far lower percentage of their passes, it made sense for teams to strictly limit their quarterbacks to handing off the football in situations where running clock was more important than picking up a first down. Quarterbacks simply couldn't be trusted not to screw up, and most receivers weren't good enough to regularly win one-on-one matchups.

Today's game is different. Quarterbacks routinely throw bubble screens and other short passes designed to get the ball out quickly, and their success rate on those throws is remarkable: They complete 70.9 percent of their passes within five yards of the line of scrimmage and throw interceptions 1.1 percent of the time. That's similar to the fumble rate on rushing plays since 2012 (1.2 percent, although only 0.7 percent are lost to the opposition).

Repeat: Many passes are high-percentage plays.

In situations where teams are one or two first downs away from ending the game, passing simply has to be part of the equation, if only to prevent teams from teeing off on your running game. The screen Dak Prescott set up with Cole Beasley to seal the game against the 49ers is a perfect example. And, with run-pass options, you can ask your quarterback to make a simple check at the line of scrimmage and either hand the ball off or make a pass that is likely to be completed.

In situations where teams simply want to run as much clock as possible and punt without any real concern about getting a first down, they're probably better off kneeling than running offensive plays, if only because of the risk of a fumble. There's little logic behind teams "half-trying" to succeed on offense. Another example of that ...

Run to start your two-minute drill, because if it fails, just run out the clock.

Many NFL teams are fond of starting their final drives before halftime with a draw or another sort of running play to try to test the waters. If the play goes well, they'll kick it into second gear and start sprinting down the field to try to score. If the play fails, they'll slow down and waste time before hitting the locker room for halftime. In a league where teams constantly talk about dictating the game and imposing their will upon the opposition, the halftime draw is weirdly passive.

But the halftime draw doesn't suit either master. If the play works and gains 10 yards, you're now sprinting up to the line of scrimmage to run your next play while wasting precious seconds or you're burning a timeout. Given how far these plays likely are from the end zone, they're the most likely passes on your drive to be completed and the mostly likely to end with a free pass out of bounds to stop the clock. Teams are afraid of throwing incomplete passes and being stuck punting to the opposition, but if that's such a concern, you're better off kneeling and avoiding the risk of fumbles.

The classic example of end-of-half clock mismanagement came in Week 3 from the Titans, who ran a draw on first down for 8 yards from the 25-yard line with 33 seconds left in the first half. The opposing Raiders were down to one timeout. Oakland didn't call a timeout after the play, so Tennessee could have let the game go to halftime or called one of their own remaining timeouts to try to set up the next couple of plays. Instead, they rushed to the line and threw a pass with 11 seconds left, a meaningless 3-yard in-route that was telegraphed and nearly intercepted. On the next play, with eight seconds left, Marcus Mariota threw another pass over the middle that was tipped and intercepted by Reggie Nelson, who stepped out of bounds during his return with no time left on the clock. It was the polar opposite of how to manage a late-half or late-game situation.

Teams can get in trouble throwing the ball in these spots, although it's often with low-reward decisions; think about the Cowboys throwing a checkdown with time running out in the half against Washington in 2010 and having Tashard Choice's fumble returned for a touchdown -- which ended up as the margin of victory in a 13-7 loss. And there are times when the draw works, too. But that's not the point. It's better to have a plan and go all-out in attack or time expenditure without letting the opposition decide what to do on your behalf.

When teams are dealing with this decision in the fourth quarter of a tie contest, chances are it's better to be aggressive and try to win games. There are too many teams throughout history who have sat on the ball after allowing a late score and regretted the tale. The flip side of that, quite famously in opposition to John Madden's commentary, was the 2001 Patriots. They allowed a back-breaking touchdown to Ricky Proehl with 1:36 left in the Super Bowl to tie the score at 17, and while Madden suggested the Patriots kneel on the ball, Bill Belichick rightly realized he was a massive underdog and would only be running the risk of giving Kurt Warner the ball in overtime.

Tom Brady promptly drove the Patriots 53 yards for a game-winning Adam Vinatieri field goal.

Never go for two before you have to.

The rule differs around the league, but there are a fair number of NFL playcallers who don't go for two until the end of the game is in sight. For some, you start at the beginning of the fourth quarter, while others might not even think about their two-point plays until there are seven minutes or less remaining in the contest.

The argument says you shouldn't chase the score until there's a good chance it might be the final score, which makes some sense, even if many of those same teams and commentators ignore that logic in more conservative situations. (Many of them will argue how teams should kick a field goal to tie the score or make it a one-possession game at similar times of the contest.) It's true that teams shouldn't treat the numbers on the scoreboard as if they're guaranteed to be the final score, but it's also naive to suggest that scoring is entirely random from that point forward.

...

With Brady Back, The Pats Are Playing Some Of Their Best Football Ever

Remember all that chatter about how this might finally be the year the New England Patriots would fall back to Earth? After all, Tom Brady was suspended for four games, and he'd presumably be rusty from the layoff when he returned. But instead of stumbling, the Pats weathered Brady's absence just fine, and they've been firing on all cylinders since their starting QB returned to the lineup three weeks ago. After Brady torched the Buffalo Bills for 315 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-25 victory Sunday, New England is 4-0 with Brady under center this season. It's also the best team in football, according to FiveThirtyEight's Elo ratings-based power rankings.

Stretches of superlative play are nothing new for the Patriots, of course, and the team's most recent four games are hardly the best it's played during Brady's tenure. But considering that Brady missed a month of football heading into them, they are surprisingly close. The Brady-led version of the 2016 Patriots is in the midst of the team's 10th-best distinct1 four-game stretch since 2006.2 That's based on how much more the Pats outscored their opponents than we'd expect an average NFL team to.

The Patriots' best distinct four-game stretches since 2006

At +17.8 points of scoring margin above average per game, the Brady-led version of the 2016 Pats is the best Patriots team since the beginning of the 2015 season, which — if you don't recall — was a really good stretch of football for them. And maybe the most remarkable thing about the Pats' current run is how they've been doing it. After surviving as a team without Brady for the season's first four games — they had a +4.5 margin above average through Week 4 — the Patriots have been relying on their QB to an unusual degree.

To see how much Brady was powering the team, I took that group of 20 four-game stretches since 2006 and measured how many expected points added (EPA) New England got out of its offense and defense (broken down further into rushing and passing) and special teams per game. I then plotted how the Patriots' most recent four games compare to the other 19 four-game stretches. Aside from Brady's brilliant passing, the Pats' most recent stretch has been below the norm of their other great four-game stretches in every other area of the game:

Brady didn't miss a beat after his suspension, coming back to lead the NFL by a mile in Total Quarterback Rating (QBR), passer rating and just about any other quarterback rate statistic you can think of. He's even crept up to 11th in touchdown passes despite playing half as many games as everyone else. According to EPA, this is nearly as good as we've seen the Patriots pass the ball over a four-game stretch since 2006.

But EPA also says the Pats have been doing some of their worst rushing and playing some of their worst defense over the same four games. Led by LeGarrette Blount and James White, New England has averaged just 3.5 yards per carry these past four games, and its defense is allowing 343 yards and 20 first downs per game — both numbers uncharacteristically average for a Patriots team whose best performances over the years were fueled by a strong defense on top of Brady's stellar offense.

So maybe it isn't the best idea to rely so heavily on a quarterback who turned 39 in August, since even the great ones can fall apart at a moment's notice. But on the other hand, Brady has shown no signs of being anything other than the best QB in football since his suspension ended. And as long as that's the case, the Patriots are going to strike fear in the hearts of every other team in the league.

How Beneficial Is The Football For Our Health

Football is way too violent and should be abolished as a sport. Even some NFL players admit that they would not let their own sons play football. Then there are others, fierce advocates who think football is a wonderful game with tremendous benefits to its participants and think all of the media hype about injuries are just overrated scare tactics and headline grabbers.

But the majority of us are probably somewhere in the middle and aren’t quite sure what to think. So why don’t we spend a little time sifting through all the facts and emotions and see if we can make some logical decisions about the subject. I have an interesting perspective in that I am a sports medicine physician who is a true fan of the game, has played the game, has sustained injuries and has a son of my own.

Dementia, CTE, chronic headaches, depression, the list goes on and on. It’s not just long-term orthopedic problems anymore. It’s not just the chronic knee pain or back pain. These athletes suffer from cognitive, psychological, psychiatric, social, emotional and daily functional problems that even lead some to take their own lives. From this perspective it is easy to ask oneself the simple question: Is it worth it?

Especially when I have a 4-year-old son who is so innocent and has his whole life ahead of him. I ask myself: Is this what I want for him? On the other hand, football is a beautiful game. It is the No. 1 sport in America for a reason. Not only is there the physical strength, speed, technique and skill that it develops in its athletes, but it also provides a structure to develop other skills. Learning about hard work, strategy, teamwork, social and trust building skills, these are all life lessons that provide our youngsters with tools to not only tackle their opponent, but to tackle life.

From a spectator perspective it is also a fascinating game to watch. The strategy of the play calling and the intricacy of the formations, the feat of skill of an amazing catch, the excitement of an interception and of course the energizing violence of a hard fumble-causing tackle. Finally, for the athletes themselves there is also the social status of being a football player on the high school or collegiate level. And for some there is the lure of playing professional football with all of the fame and fortune and opportunity that it provides. For many it is the last hope and a way out of an otherwise troublesome life. So how do we balance these two perspectives?

Well, as with any decision in life we must weigh the risks and rewards. So let’s take a logical look at the risks. There is tremendous risk in football. Every year football players in this country die from head trauma or sudden cardiac death or heat illness. Also injuries leading to paralysis and permanent disability are not as rare as we would hope. But what are the true relative risks? It is a fact that head trauma is more common in bicycling than it is in football. Football is then closely followed by playground accidents. Concussions may have a higher incidence in girls soccer than in football. What about the risk of death?

Perhaps the greatest is education and awareness. Proper pre-participation screening, heat illness prevention, proper equipment, proper tackling technique, concussion baseline testing and injury monitoring, and there are many others. We also reduce risk by reducing exposure. Limiting the number of hits by limiting full contact practices will reduce injury rates. Rule changes such as on kickoffs will change play dynamics and reduce injury exposure as well. Penalizing dangerous technique such as hits to the head and hits on defenseless receivers and fining flagrant acts of dangerous unsportsmanlike conduct will also reduce risk.

Changing the culture of the game will also go a long way toward limiting violence and increasing injury reporting and monitoring. Should the violence completely disappear? Should the game be more about pure skill and less about physicality? It probably shouldn’t. After all, what does a non-violent, non-physical football game look like: It’s called the Pro Bowl. And nobody watches it. So I don’t think the game needs to be radically changed and the violence completely eliminated, but clearly there does need to be change. Luckily that change has finally arrived.

Football has gone through periods of significant change in the past. From being saved from extinction by Teddy Roosevelt in 1905, to the development of the forward pass, to the fearlessness of the hard-helmeted athlete, there have certainly been many periods of change. I think we have now arrived upon another one. An age of enlightenment so to speak. An awareness of the importance of injury prevention and a culture change of what it means to be an injured athlete. I do not think that the game of football that has been played over the last decade will be the same as that played by my 4-year-old when it is his turn.

"Poland Will Have Three Perfect Footballers"

If seven straight wins have left Borussia Dortmund well placed to successfully defend their Bundesliga title, the club's sublime form also gives cause for hope across the border in Poland.

It is no coincidence Dortmund's hot streak has come when their three Polish internationals have enjoyed an extended run together in Jürgen Klopp's team. This was most evident in Sunday's 3-1 home win against Hannover 96, as Robert Lewandowski scored twice with the assists coming from Jakub 'Kuba' Błaszczykowski and Łukasz Piszczek.

The performance had their coach purring. "It was obvious they were all in good shape but against Hannover they took it to another level," said Klopp, whose side are now four points clear in Germany. "Judging by their displays, I would say they are close to 100%. I'm very fond of these types of players."

The timing could barely be better for ambitious Dortmund – and likewise for Poland. "I can promise Polish fans that Kuba, Robert and Łukasz are still to reach the top of their game," Klopp added. "Poland will have three perfect footballers by the time EURO kicks off." It is a hope shared by the trio. "We want to take this form with us to the national team," said midfielder Kuba, whose country face Portugal on Wednesday in the first game at the new National Stadium Warsaw.

"We don't have to communicate much when we are on the pitch together, we already know what the other player will do," added the right-footer, who has been with Dortmund since 2007. Previously an undisputed regular, Blaszczykowski found himself benched earlier this season yet bounced back to emerge as an ideal replacement for the injured Mario Götze. "My confidence has increased a lot in the last few weeks," the 26-year-old former Wisła Kraków man said.

Ever a threat, his contribution has not gone unnoticed by Klopp. "He is an exceptional player with outstanding talent," the coach recently observed. Kuba is also one half of Dortmund's dynamic right flank with Piszczek filling in at full-back. Originally a striker, Piszczek – also 26 – joined Dortmund from Hertha BSC Berlin in 2010 and soon became a fixture in the side, earning a new contract until 2016.

However, it is probably the youngest of the three who has received the most attention. Lewandowski has scored 16 Bundesliga goals in 23 games this term, also supplying eight assists – all of this after he endured a difficult spell last season following his switch from KKS Lech Poznań. In a system that features only one centre-forward, the 23-year-old was second choice behind Lucas Barrios, yet when the Paraguayan got injured, Lewandowski seized his chance.

Having won the Polish Cup and league championship with Lech Poznań, followed by last year's Bundesliga, the No9 certainly has a thirst for trophies. "Defending the title with Dortmund would be great and reaching the German Cup final is another of my goals," he said.

Grand plans are also afoot for UEFA EURO 2012. With expectation levels rising among the Polish public, especially after being drawn in Group A with Greece, Russia and the Czech Republic, Lewandowski predicts: "We should be able to reach the quarter-finals."

While the focus is club football for now, it will not just be Klopp wishing for more Dortmund success this spring. With an expectant nation counting down to June, national coach Francisczek Smuda says: "Dortmund are the most important club for the Polish national team."

The University Of Alabama Is One Of The Historically Great College Football Programs

The University of Alabama is one of the historically great college football programs. The University of Alabama has won 13 National Championships in its history and has seen a number of great coaches and players come through the school that have created the rich history the way we see it today. Through their history we have seen the introduction of football to the school, a rise to excellence, and the continued ups and downs that go with fighting towards the top.
In 1892 the game of football was first introduced to the University of Alabama. They began calling themselves the "Crimson White" at this point but by 1907 they had adopted the name that we know them as today, "The Crimson Tide."
Things were not always wonderful from a standpoint of success in football for Alabama, but in 1922 things started looking up. Wallace Wade was hired as head coach and had a goal to turn Alabama football into a dynasty. He started in that direction from the beginning, leading the Crimson Tide to a Rose Bowl victory and a National Championship in a victory over Washington. The success of Wallace Wade did not stop there, as he continued to win two more National Championships before his departure from the team in 1931.
Frank Thomas, their next coach, continued in excellence, leading the University to two more National Championships in the next 14 years that he was head coach. However, the next 11 seasons for the Crimson Tide were tough, as they won zero National Championships and only produced a 4-24-2 record over a three year span. This represented their worst stretch in school history. They needed a turnaround and went with former Alabama player Paul "Bear" Bryant at head coach.
Bear Bryant arrived in 1958 and in his first season helped the team to win 5 games, which was more than they had in their previous three seasons combined. Bear Bryant turned the Alabama program back to its winning tradition, leading Alabama to a 232-46-9 record during his tenure at Alabama, including 6 National Championships and 24 consecutive bowl game appearances. Unfortunately the Bear Bryant days could not last forever. He retired in 1982 and died four weeks after his retirement of a heart attack.
Since the days of Bear Bryant, the success of the Crimson Tide has slowed slightly. From the time Bear Bryant retired in 1982 until 2008 the Crimson Tide managed just one National Championship. This championship was led by coach Gene Stallings in 1993.