Jarrod Washburn, draft guru

Seattle Mariners pitcher Jarrod Washburn also has his Packers fan credentials in order. He's from Webster and lives in Danbury, both in northwestern Wisconsin, and played at UW-Oshkosh.

He's big on the NFL draft. Here is Washburn's draft analysis, as reported in the Tacoma News-Tribune:

Who had the best draft? "The Chiefs had the best draft. But they should because they had the most first-round draft picks and a couple of high ones."

What about the Packers? "I like what they did. They filled some holes."

What about drafting Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm in the second round? "I like that pick a lot. That's not to say I don't like Aaron Rodgers, but we didn't have anybody behind him. And competition is a good thing."

Washburn, 33, takes the same view of the draft as most of our Packers writers. When the Tacoma paper asked him to analyze the draft, he said: "You can't say who won for at least three years. You really don't know."

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

The day football died

This isn't new -- it's been on the Web for about six weeks -- but we thought we'd point it out if you haven't seen it.

Annette Summersett, a folk singer from Los Angeles, posted a tribute video to YouTube last month in the wake of Brett Favre's retirement.

She sets new lyrics to Don McLean's "American Pie."

Though Summersett lives and performs in L.A., she's from L'Anse in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, so her Packers fan credentials are in order.

As for the song and the video ... as always, you be the judge.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Alumni update: Mike Sherman

Wondering what former Packers coach Mike Sherman is up to at Texas A&M?

ESPN.com's Tim Griffin checked in after spring practice ended.

Sherman's message: Be on time. Be accountable. Be responsible.

The Aggies are listening.

Tight end Jamie McCoy: "I know I've got my watch set 13 minutes early so I can make it on time. If you aren't here on time, you'll be locked out and your stuff will be cleaned out of your locker until you go talk to the coach."

Defensive tackle Kellen Heard: "It's tough if you aren't here by your time ... the next thing you know you're pushing two-by-fours for 800 yards. Once you do it, you'll never want to do that again. But Coach is making it like it's in the pros."

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Smoke, smoke, smoke that cigarette

Paul Lukas, who writes the UniWatch column on ESPN.com and oversees the UniWatch blog, is out with a new ESPN column on smokers in sports.

Among them, some familiar faces in familiar places:


Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith talks to reporters in the locker room at Lambeau Field after losing to the Packers 21-17 in the NFL championship game -- the Ice Bowl -- on Dec. 31, 1967.


Packers coach Vince Lombardi watches from the sideline during the Packers’ 37-0 victory over the New York Giants in the NFL championship game at Lambeau Field on Dec. 31, 1961.


Packers coach Phil Bengtson stands on the sideline during his regular-season debut on Sept. 15, 1968. The Packers beat the Philaelphia Eagles 30-13 at Lambeau Field.


It wasn't just cigarettes, either. Packers guard Fuzzy Thurston enjoys a victory cigar while talking to Baltimore News-Post sports editor John Steadman in the locker room at Lambeau Field after the Packers beat the Cleveland Browns 23-12 in the NFL championship game on Jan. 2, 1966.

All photos from Press-Gazette archives.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Career path goes through Lambeau Field

Dana Hurda teaches business classes at Evansville High School in southern Wisconsin. She was looking for a way to get her students excited about careers in accounting.

She took them on a field trip. A Lambeau Field trip.

"Athletics is huge here in Evansville, so I thought if I could tie athletics to careers, kids would be interested," Hurda told the Janesville Gazette.

They met with Vicki Vannieuwenhoven, the Packers' vice president of finance, and Duke Copp, the team's head controller. Both are CPAs.

Evansville student Nathan Schafer got a big kick out of walking on the playing field during the tour, but he also connected his love of sports to a career choice.

"It connects what you want to possibly do in the future to something you really enjoy," he said. "It lets people know that it's not just sitting in a cubicle all day working with numbers. There's actually more interesting jobs besides just that."

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Illinois wants to honor Favre, too

Never let it be said that they don't appreciate Brett Favre in Bears country.

State Rep. Tom Cross, a Republican from Oswego, Ill., is sponsoring a resolution honoring Favre, the Packers quarterback who retired in March after bedeviling the Bears for 16 seasons.

"Brett Favre just epitomized the tough kind of football player that Chicago fans admire," Cross told the Rockford Register Star.

Cross, who admits to being a fan of both teams, sees his resolution as "a fitting tribute to a fierce competitor."

The resolution says Favre "embodied the heart and soul of the NFL with his workmanlike approach, his gunslinging mentality, his childlike enthusiasm, and his love for the game."

The Illinois House is expected to vote on the resolution sometime before May 31.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Reggie White's son visits Sunday

Jeremy White, who has written a book about his life with his late father, Packers defensive end Reggie White, will make two appearances in the Green Bay area on Sunday.

At each stop, he'll briefly speak about his father, then autograph copies of "In His Shadow -- Growing Up With Reggie White."

At 2 p.m., he'll be at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 2498 S. Oneida St., Ashwaubenon.

At 4 p.m., he'll be at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 4705 Grande Market Drive, Grand Chute.

Both sessions are free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Madden NFL '09 cover boy: It's Favre

Guess who's going to be on the cover of Madden NFL '09? It's Brett Favre, according to GameDaily Biz and SportsBusiness Daily.

Electronic Arts was expected to announce that on Friday, but the official word will come tonight when the retired Packers quarterback appears on "Late Show with David Letterman." Now that Favre's retired, he has to talk about something.

The video game is expected to be in stores on Aug. 12.

EA has unveiled the Madden game's cover boy on late-night shows in the past. Last year, Titans quarterback Vince Young went on Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show to announce he'd be on the cover of Madden NFL '08.

One possible advantage to putting a retired player on the cover of the Madden game: The so-called Madden cover jinx may not come into play.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Getting caught up with the fans

We're still swamped with preparations for this weekend's NFL draft and making any number of fixes to our redesigned Web site, so we'll quickly go through the latest from Packers Nation:

-- Bob Griffin grew up in Texas and now lives in Endicott, N.Y., but he's a Packers fan. So much so that he's created Cheesehead Chili, which keeps winning chili cookoffs.

"It's kind of a fun way to celebrate chili and my favorite football team," he told the Binghamton (N.Y.) Press & Sun-Bulletin.

Griffin won the Great New York State Chili Championship in 2004 and 2005 and will try again next month. Sorry, the recipe's a secret.

-- Terry Ainsworth is another far-flung Packers fan. He's from England and recently told the Lancaster Guardian how he came to be a Packers fan.

He was on vacation in Florida in 1980 and became fascinated with American football. He went home, wrote to the NFL for information and somehow managed to get invited to a game in Florida and to meet Packers great Ray Nitschke.

He also said ABC visited him in England to do a story on an NFL fan abroad.

"They even featured my ice cream van 'cause it had a big Packers helmet on the front," he said.

-- The Rev. Jeremy Jacoby is donating one of his kidneys to a member of his church, Family of Christ Lutheran Church in Frederick, Colo. There is one condition. The recipent, Jon Adams, 33 -- a Wisconsin native and a Packers fan -- "must admit (retired Broncos quarterback John) Elway is the greatest," Jacoby told the Denver Post.

-- Jim Schuman, a Bears fan from St. Charles, Ill., wore Packers gear in Monday's Boston Marathon. He was running to raise money for Homes for Our Troops, which builds special homes for disabled veterans.

His old college pals Jim Wallerius (a Denmark High School alumnus) and Steve Stine (a doctor in Wausau) ponied up $1,000 each, but only if Schuman would run in green and gold. So he did, according to Tom Held of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He raised $10,000 and finished the marathon in 3 hours, 41 minutes and 42 seconds.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

There's still only one Titletown

ESPN's summer time-killer, the search for America's Titletown, rolls on.

"SportsCenter" anchor John Anderson, a Green Bay native, got things going a couple of weeks ago with an ESPN.com essay touting his hometown as Titletown.

Since then, any number of American towns have been nominated as Titletown. ESPN.com is keeping track, if you're curious.

Next month, you'll be able to vote online on which of the nominees will be the 20th town to be visited by ESPN crews. After those visits end in July, you'll be able to vote on which of the 20 towns is Titletown.

You stuff the ballot box for soup. We imagine you can do the same to ensure Green Bay remains Titletown.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Ken Stills' draft memories

Former Packers safety Ken Stills, now the coach of the River City Rage of the United Indoor Football Association, reminisces on the team's web site about what it was like to be drafted by Green Bay in 1985.

"We all woke up at 5:30 that morning," said Stills, who insists he went to class at the University of Wisconsin as usual. The draft was held on April 30 and May 1, a Tuesday and a Wednesday.

"We had a good team and we knew that we were going to have some guys get drafted early. Then boom, boom, boom -- three guys go in the first round. Al Toon went 10th, Richard Johnson goes 11th and Darryl Sims went 20th. I had a 9:45 class and I left. I wasn't even thinking about getting drafted.

Stills adds:

"After class, we were all still hanging out. The draft wasn't on TV any more. They didn't show all of the rounds like they do today. Then my phone rings and it's the Giants. They said they wanted to draft me, but their pick was still a ways down. Not much longer after I hung up the phone, it rang again and it was (Packers coach) Forrest Gregg. He said 'How would you like to be a Green Bay Packer?' That was all I needed to hear. My teammate (running back) Gary Ellerson was also drafted by the Packers and we started packing."

It's been 23 years, but Stills remembers the thrills.

"Looking back on that day, it still is one of the most exciting days of my life. I really didn't think I was going to get drafted. The NFL had the saying 'Hold on to your dreams.' I did just that and it happened. I wouldn't have had it any other way."

Stills was drafted in the eighth round of a 12-round draft, the 209th overall selection. He played in 65 games for the Packers from 1985 to 1989.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Alumni update: Getting caught up

Between planning for this weekend's NFL draft and getting ready to launch a redesigned Web site, we haven't had much time to go Out of Bounds.

So here, quickly, are some of the things we've found over the last week or so:

Packers legend Ray Nitschke has been voted one of the top 10 linebackers of all time at the University of Illinois. Loren Tate, a columnist with the Alton (Ill.) Telegraph, remembers Nitschke's time at Illinois.

Bob Long, a receiver for the Packers from 1964 to 1967, will be inducted into the Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in Warrendale, Pa., on May 3, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Long, 65, is a native of McKeesport, Pa.

Aaron Brooks, 32, the Packers' No. 3 quarterback in 1999, is working as a real estate developer in his hometown of Newport News, Va., according to the Newport News Daily Press.

Look for Matt Willig, a backup tackle for the Packers in 1998, as a giant slave in "Year One," a new biblical comedy starring Jack Black, according to the Alamogordo (N.M.) Daily News. The 6-foot-8 Willig, who's 39, has done some other acting, mostly in commercials.

Charlie Ane, who wrapped up his NFL career as a backup center for the Packers in 1981, is the football coach at his alma mater, Punahou School in Honolulu. (He now goes by the name of Kale Ane.) One of his players, linebacker Manti Te'o, is on an ESPN.com list of 150 high school players to watch.

Herbert "Whisper" Goodman, a backup halfback for the Packers in 2000 and 2001, is fighting as a mixed martial arts heavyweight out of Reno, Nev. He had a bout in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Friday night, according to the Miami Herald.

Defensive end DeVon Hicks, who was with the Packers during training camp in 2007, has signed a two-year deal with the Calgary Roughriders of the CFL, according to the Regina Leader Post.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Watch for Favre on Letterman

Retired Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre will be a guest on David Letterman's CBS talk show on April 24, an NFL spokesman confirmed today.

Favre is scheduled to make an NFL promotional appearance in New York that day. As long as he already was in town, according to the source, Favre agreed to do the show.

It will be Favre's second appearance on Letterman's show. He also was a guest in 1997 after the Packers’ victory in Super Bowl XXXI. Favre has also appeared on "The Tonight Show" and "The Late, Late Show."

Favre has other small-screen and big-screen face time to his credit, including playing himself in one episode of the HBO series "Arli$$" and the 1998 movie "There’s Something About Mary."

-- Press-Gazette

Shopping for a championship ring?

If you were dazzled by the mention of Aaron Taylor's ring earlier today, here's your chance to pick up your own Packers championship ring.

In fact, you have your choice of three championship rings being auctioned at Sotheby's in New York on April 24.

They come from former Packers scout Lew Anderson, who worked for the team in the 1950s and 1960s. His 1962 and 1965 NFL championship rings and his Super Bowl II ring are being auctioned. All three are gold with diamonds. Also being auctioned: A set of gold cufflinks accompanied by a handwritten note from Vince Lombardi and three footballs signed by the Packers.

Each of the rings is expected to fetch $20,000 or more. The cufflinks, the Lombardi note and the footballs are expected to go for $5,000 or more.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Favre will welcome the pope to America

We wrote last month that Brett and Deanna Favre and Packers coach Mike McCarthy had been invited to Pope Benedict XVI's open-air mass in Washington, D.C., this week.

Brett Favre will make a videotaped appearance at Thursday's mass at Nationals Park, the new home of baseball's Washington Nationals, according to The Capital Times newspaper of Madison.

A number of American Catholics, including Favre, have taped 15-minute segments welcoming the pope to the United States. They'll be shown on a large video screen at the stadium.

There's no word on whether the Favres or McCarthy will attend the mass in person.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Alumni update: Aaron Taylor

Wearing a Super Bowl ring apparently helps with the ladies.

That's what we gather from an Amarillo Globe-News story about former Packers guard Aaron Taylor's visit to that Texas city for a football clinic.

Taylor didn't wear his Super Bowl XXXI ring during his visit to Bushland High School over the weekend.

His explanation? "I remembered it driving to the airport. I used to wear it all the time, when I was single."

Now that he's engaged, Taylor, 35, said he wears the ring "like a tuxedo, just on special occasions."

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

(Photo credit: Josten's)

Memo to ESPN: There's only one Titletown

ESPN apparently needs something to fill the air during the dog days of summer, and it has come up with this:

Starting during "SportsCenter" on July 4, and continuing for the next 19 days, ESPN will look for "TitleTown USA," according to SportsBusiness Daily.

It'll start in Green Bay, then go to 18 other cities picked by ESPN anchors and writers. Each place will be featured in 10- to 12-minute segments during "SportsCenter." The goal: To find out which city or town is America's title town.

The new "TitleTown USA" will be chosen in online voting at ESPN.com.

This seems vaguely better than last year's time-killer -- "Who's Now?" -- but not by much.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

You must wait for tickets to Favre's induction

Brett Favre has been retired barely a month, and his fans already are planning for his induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

That's not likely to happen until the summer of 2013, but people are calling the Hall to ask how they can get tickets for the induction ceremony.

"I don't recall there being the kind of inquiry there has been with Brett Favre," Hall vice president Joe Horrigan told the Canton Repository.

Induction ceremonies are held at Fawcett Stadium, next door to the Hall. It seats 22,000, and it almost certainly will sell out whenever Favre goes into the Hall.

To keep up to date on ticket information for future induction ceremonies, the Hall suggests fans subscribe to its e-mail newsletter at its Web site. (Scroll down to the bottom of that page.)

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

It might be the tequila talking

A half-dozen Chicago Bears players joined a group of Bears fans on a charter trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, last month. For a mere $1,368 per person, you got to spend a week with the Bears at a deluxe resort.

Dave Neubart of the Chicago Sun-Times went along and reports: "Within moments of entering the Riu Santa Fe, the hotel staff handed us drinks. From this moment forward, the resort seemed determined to make sure we consumed copious amounts of alcohol. We were happy to oblige."

Which may explain this. During a question-and-answer session at the hotel's sports bar, Bears kicker Robbie Gould spotted some folks from Wisconsin.

"Not only do we beat the Green Bay Packers on the field, but I bet this group could probably out-drink every Packer fan here," Gould boasted, drawing a big round of applause.

Heavy drinking is never a particularly good idea, but we suspect Packers fans would rise to the occasion.

Gould was hung over when he made that boast. How do we know? His teammate, fullback Jason McKie, ratted him out, saying Gould "lost a 12-round bout with tequila last night."

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

Alumni update: Tom Brown

Former Packers safety Tom Brown is 67, but he's keeping young by working with young people in Salisbury, Md. He's done so for the last 25 years.

In fact, Brown has two baseball and four football fields on his 8-acre property.

Here's his take on youth sports, as told to the Salisbury Daily Times:

"All I try to do is provide a positive influence and give them a positive experience in their first experience with sports. In youth sports today, sometimes it gets a little tough with the coaches and the parents because they think their son or daughter might be good enough to get a college scholarship and that kind of bothers me. Parents get a little excited and a little upset with coaches and the organization. I tell them just to have a good time and watch their child play and don't expect them to be perfect. ...

"Youngsters take turns as captains, and every child gets a chance to play. I want every interaction with the child to be positive. A lot of coaches feel they have to win the game. We don't have coaches with an agenda. It is not important that the kids win, because they are not getting trophies, we don't have an all-star team. They just come and have a good time. ...

"Nobody here (parent or coach) is going to holler at their kid. I believe you can teach a kid more by letting them play the game and make mistakes. I have a reputation, credibility. I talk through the children to the parents and they get it. We never tell a kid they are no good at the game; we just want them to have fun. ...

"For some youngsters, their first introduction to sports can be very, very negative, devastating for them. My biggest enjoyment is seeing a kid come with very little confidence, timid, scared and join the other kids in a game and be excited about coming back."

Brown is not as gentle wth parents who take youth sports too seriously:

"I am not going to sugarcoat things. I will tell parents if they are out of line. If you think your kid is good enough at age 8 to get a college scholarship, you are unrealistic. It's gotten to the point that winning, winning, winning is more important than anything else and that's plain wrong."

Brown played baseball for the Washington Senators in 1963, then was a strong safety for the Packers from 1964 to 1968, starting opposite Willie Wood. He finished his football career with the Washington Redskins in 1969, in Vince Lombardi's only season as Washington's coach.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com

(Photo credit: Brice Stump, Salisbury Daily Times)

Something old, something new ...

Something gold, something blue.

That's how you might describe the Green Bay Packers' connection to the 2008 spring football game at the University of Notre Dame.

Packers running back Ryan Grant has been named one of six honorary coaches for the Blue-Gold Game on April 19. He's representing Fighting Irish players of the 2000s. He was only the seventh player to rush for 1,000 yards at Notre Dame and is 12th on the school's career rushing list with 2,220 yards.

Jim Morse, a halfback who was the Packers' 13th-round pick in the 1957 NFL draft, will represent Notre Dame players of the 1950s. He captained the Fighting Irish in 1956.

Two of Morse's teammates also were drafted by the Packers in 1957. They had the top pick in that draft and chose Heisman Trophy winner Paul Hornung, then chose center Ed Sullivan in the 12th round. Neither Morse nor Sullivan made the Packers.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com