football Tag

Cowboys Sideline Reporter’s Travel Diary: A Special Night for the Team at Freedom Tower’s One World Observatory

--Kristi Scales

Ten road trips a year are among the biggest perks of broadcasting NFL games. Some people don’t like business travel or find it tedious to make trips that are quick turnarounds, but Cowboys road trips are among my favorite parts of the job.

During the 2015 season, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett deviated from the team’s normal travel routine to provide an extra special experience for players and coaches (and a couple of lucky long-time broadcasters, including myself). For the game at the New York Giants in October, we left a day early so the team could spend Friday evening touring the 9/11 Memorial and attending a private team dinner party inside Freedom Tower.

It was a high-brow evening, to be sure. All the players and coaches were dressed in suits & ties. The team’s hotel is in Jersey City, so upon arrival on Friday evening at Newark Airport we took a bus to

2013 NFL Hall of Fame Game

Dallas Cowboys vs. Miami Dolphins
August 4, 2013 - Canton, OH

The start of the 2013 NFL season is upon us.  Seems like just yesterday that Rahim Moore blew the coverage on Jacoby Jones and the Ravens used a game tying touchdown as the momentum they needed to win the Super Bowl. Oh the memories.  Well now its time to make some new memories.

Sure the regular season is still a month away but in many ways the season will begin this weekend in Canton at the NFL Hall of Fame.  The Hall of Fame Game will be our first look at the helmet cracking action we have all missed over the last several months.  The HOF Game is just another preseason game but this is when the routine of the regular season will kick in for most teams.

This year we get the pleasure of watching the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins.  We probably won't see much play from the starters but this is a great chance for new players to get acclimated with their teammates and coaches during actual game situations.

Some coaches look at the Hall of Fame Game as an extra opportunity to a get a look at some guys that won't see much playing time moving forward.  So in some aspects there is an advantage to playing in the Hall of Fame Game.  However, it is an earlier start for these 2 teams and that can make the preseason drag on for veterans.

What we will learn from Hall of Fame Weekend

Are you a soccer fan?  Well I guess most soccer fans around the world refer to it as football but to save confusion I'll just stick with calling it soccer.  Besides, its pretty clear that there is only one sport of football in this country.  Anyways, if you are a soccer fan then you should know all about the Gold Cup.  If you don't know about the Gold Cup then you might need to re-commit your fan-hood and get with the program.  The Gold Cup is a very popular event and crucial in determining the best team in North America.

Super Bowl Sidebar

What a week folks.  As if there aren't enough headlines for the Super Bowl, we get slapped in the face with allegations from SI that Ray Lewis used a banned substance.  It seems no sport, including golf, is safe from PED's.  Vijay Singh also admitted that he was using the same product Lewis has allegedly used.  Miami New Times also released a story this week that a company down in Florida was selling PED's to several MLB players.  It is a sad state of affairs when every sports accomplishment seems tainted these days.  At some point I think we all just have to accept that PED's have been and will always be prevalent in professional and collegiate sports.  The drive to be the best is what put these athletes in the position they are in and many times an athlete will compromise integrity for success.  We can sit here and judge all day but can you honestly say you would do different?  I would like to think I would but until put in that position I'm not sure how I would respond.  We now know how athletes like Alex Rodriguez and Ray Lewis allegedly responded.

San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens
Jim vs. John
Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh
Brother vs. Brother
Brah vs. Brah

Unless you have been living under a rock, you should be quite aware that this year's Super Bowl will feature a showdown between brothers Jim and John Harbaugh.  Twitter peeps have been going hastag crazy with orginials such as #superbaugh, #harbowl, and#superbraugh.  One fan even tried to go as far as trademarking "Harbowl" but the NFL has discouraged him from continuing his efforts.  I think for the first time in Super Bowl history the coaches might be more of a story than the 2 teams.   The circumstances are incredibly unique and I think this is great for the league.  I hoped for this last year and we all got lucky to have the opportunity again this year.  Amazingly I got my wish and we have an all-Harbaugh Super Bowl.  So in spirits of the Harbowl I would like to offer a tale of the tape for these two brothers as they head into the game of their life.  Think of all the times these two have competed.  Whether its a card game, board game, a romantic interest, or even the love of their parents.... I wonder if there is a favorite in this long history of competition?  The brothers seem so similar but is there a historical advantage in this match-up?  Either way I think the loser of this game will face an uphill battle in trying to deal with defeat.

I was really hoping that my predictions would hold on last weekend but I ended up at .500 after going 2 out of 4.  The good news I am still 6-2 in the 2013 playoffs so I can at least hang my hat on that for another day or so.  Last weekend was one of the best playoff weekends that I can remember in a while.  The Patriots and Texans game was the only one that wasn't up to playoff excitement standards.  The outcome of that game was pretty clear from the first quarter on.  The Texans just didn't have enough to beat New England at home.  It just seems like the Patriots have this whole football thing figured out.

Before I get to this week's games I do want to review the other 3 games briefly.  The Broncos and Ravens game was great and I like seeing Ray Lewis continue his swan song but that was ridiculous.  The Broncos flat gave that game away and it was hard for me to see Peyton Manning contribute so much to a loss.  Manning will receive a ton of MVP votes this season and had an amazing season this year but he kinda choked at the end.  Sad to seem him struggle in the clutch like that.

The opening weekend of the NFL playoffs ended up about how I expected.  I felt pretty good about going 4 out of 4 with my picks last week but I will also admit that the choices seemed pretty easy.  The major disappointment of the weekend was the status of the clearly injured RGIII.  I was really looking forward to that game but it proved to be pretty lack luster after Seattle gained their composure.  I'm not sure where I stand on the issue with starting Griffin, but if they knew the extent of the injury then there is no excuse for starting him.  I don't think we will ever know for sure how much information the Redskins had on his injury but we can be certain that RGIII is a competitor and will be a force in the NFC for years to come.

This week the picks are a little harder to make but I feel confident with my football instincts at the moment.  I'm hoping to make it a perfect 8 for 8 so without further due lets take a look at each game this weekend.

What is now known as the Mercedes-Benz Superdome was opened on August 3, 1975.  Since that time it has been the host of 6 Super Bowls and this season's finale will bring the total to 7.  The home of the New Orleans Saints already owned the distinction of hosting the most Super Bowls so the super-structure only adds to its lead.   A lead that it holds over the Orange Bowl and Sun Life Stadium.  Both of which are located in Miami, FL and have hosted 5 each.  In honor of the seventh time hosting the event, I have sent the Sports Traveler Blog through a time machine as we take a trip back through the last 6 Super Bowls in New Orleans.

*The Superdome has also hosted the BCS National Championship on 2 occasions. (2008, 2012)

We have all waited, including Tony Romo, 7 long months but the wait is over.  Its back baby and there might not be anyone happier than Romo.  At this exact moment everyone has the same chance to make it to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans for Super Bowl XLVII.  Now we all know that some teams clearly have little to no shot of making the playoffs but on day 1 the records indicate that there is equal opportunity for each team to make their mark on the league.

The anticipation of the 2012 NFL season continues to grow as we move towards kick off for tonight's season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants.  Some fans, like myself, can hardly wait to see professional football again.  As a Cubs fan I can tell you that football season can never come soon enough.  Although we claim baseball as our nation's pastime, it is obvious that the most popular sport in this country is football.  We live it, we wear it, we strive for it, and we sometimes want to die because of it.

I Hope everyone managed to stay cool this week as temps soared over 100 degrees in many parts of the country.  The beginning of July unfortunately brings in scorching temperatures but we also inch just a little bit closer to the amazing spectacle known as the NFL season.  In just 2 short months the 2012-13 NFL campaign kicks off for the first time.

The season begins with a bang this year as the Dallas Cowboys take on the New York Giants in East Rutherford, NJ.  This strangely placed Wednesday night game will be the first regular season affair for any NFL team and it is the only game scheduled for opening night.  For the Cowboys, this game couldn't come any sooner.

In the final game of the 2011-12 regular season the Cowboys were in control of their own destiny and simply needed to beat the Giants to move on to post-season play.  The Cowboys failed to score any first half points and went on to lose 31-14.  The win for the Giants put them in the playoffs while Dallas got to sit back and watch their division rival climb to the top of Mt. NFL and hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy for the second time in 5 years.