Packers Only Want 2 Preseason Games

Green Bay Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy said Tuesday that he no longer supports any move to an 18-game, regular-season NFL schedule.

Murphy said he backed the idea of two preseason games per team followed by the 18-game schedule during last year’s negotiations with the NFL Players Association on a labor deal. He has since changed his stance.

"I was in favor of it during the bargaining process because I saw it as a way to bring the parties together and reach an agreement . Now, to be honest with you, I couldn’t support a move to two (preseason) and 18 (regular season). I just think with all the focus on player health and safety, it would be really hard to do that,” Murphy said. “And actually, I would be in support of a move to two (preseason) and 16 (regular season).”

 “The challenge there, obviously, is you’re losing revenue,” he said at the team’s annual stockholders meeting at Lambeau Field.

Murphy also said it could impact coaches, since it would reduce the amount of time they could spend developing young players. Murphy said he figured the starters would play roughly the same number of snaps in two preseason games as they do in four games now, so “I don’t know if you’d gain that much from a health and safety standpoint. But I think those are things we have to look at. What kind of things could we do to make sure the game is as safe as possible for our players?”

Murphy, who played eight seasons in the NFL as a safety for the Washington Redskins, made it clear that he is against the proliferation of concussion-related lawsuits being brought by ex-players. He said the lawsuits are “a real concern for the league” and questioned the motivation of some of the plaintiffs.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has some decisions to make with the rule changes, fines and suspensions because the league wants to improve player safety without significantly altering the game, Murphy said.

“Roger has to protect the future of the game and the integrity of it. I do think there’s a little bit of a tension there,” Murphy said. “You want to strive to make the game as safe as possible, but you don’t want to turn it into a 7-on-7 flag football game. So part of what makes the game so exciting is it’s so fast and physical. I think it’s finding a balance there.

“We’ve talked about it on the league level, it wasn’t that long ago that boxing was one of the most popular sports in America, and I think people just got turned off by the violence, the impact that it had on boxers. My concern in the long-term is that parents look at the game and say, ‘It’s too violent, too many risks involved, I don’t want my son playing the game.’ And that really starts to erode at your fan base in the future.”

'Draw Something' Comes to Television

CBS has secured the rights to make a pilot based on the popular drawing game, Draw Something.  Despite the game’s waning popularity, CBS had to compete with other media companies for the privilege, including Sony Pictures Television, Embassy Row and Ryan Seacrest Prods.

Imagine Ryan Seacrest having these rights.  Every picture would've been a different Kardashian or American Idol finalist.

Word is, the upcoming show will follow the Pictionary-esque format of divining words from drawings, and will also include a studio audience, some celebrities, and a cash prize for winners. Moreover, folks watching the show from their homes will be able to play along using their smartphone and/or tablets.

Not sure if the viewers at home will be able to win prizes.

Atlanta Should Try and Lure E3 From L.A.

With word out that the E3 show may not return to Southern California, Atlanta should try and get the show back.

E3 was once held in Atlanta as well as Tokyo and Santa Monica, CA.

Michael Gallagher, president of the Entertainment Software Association, has said that if issues with the construction of Farmer’s Field are not resolved immediately, he may be forced to hold the trade show elsewhere. Although Gallagher did not comment directly on what other cities he has been in talks with.

With the L.A. Convention Center possible out of commission for 2013, this show should come back east.

“We need assurance on things like square footage, the quality of the space, the ease of loading and unloading equipment, signage throughout the convention center for marketing and sponsorships,” Gallagher said. “We love being in Los Angeles, but we also have a show to put on.”

With the summer months being slow for tradeshows and conventions in Atlanta, this would be a perfect show for the World Congress Center and the Georgia Dome.

I'm sure all the hotels, restaurants and businesses in Downtown Atlanta, Midtown and Buckhead would agree.

From Growing Up in a Family of Packer Fans to Becoming a Viking Cheerleader

Is there nothing sacred anymore?

A Wisconsin Rapids native can add professional cheerleader to her resume, but it's not for the Packers. If you look at the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders roster, one brunette, listed as "Chelsea J." might look familiar to those in Wisconsin.

It appears Chelsea attended elementary school and seventh-grade at East Junior High in Wisconsin Rapids and still has family living there.

She may have gone to the University of Minnesota, but did she leave relatives that are Packer fans back in the Cheese State?

Chelsea is one of 11 rookies on the 35-member squad and attends three, 31/2-hour practice sessions a week.

She holds degrees in health and wellness and child psychology, Chelsea also teaches preschool full-time for an organization providing services to homeless children and their families in Minneapolis.

And, with much of her family residing in Wisconsin Rapids, she was asked THE QUESTION...
Packers or Vikings?

"I think the bottom line is they were proud I was going to be an NFL cheerleader," Chelsea said democratically.

Cubs End 12-Game Losing Streak

The Cubs stopped their 12-game losing streak, getting a boost from Alfonso Soriano's go-ahead home run to beat the San Diego Padres 11-7 on Memorial Day.

The Cubs' skid was their worst since they opened the 1997 season with 14 straight losses.

With winds blowing out at 35 mph on a 90-degree afternoon and the ball was flying. There were eight home runs, including four by each team and two from San Diego's Chase Headley and a total of 17 extra-base hits.

Chicago trailed 7-6 in the sixth inning when Soriano launched a drive that landed outside the stadium on Waveland Ave.

When the final out was secured and the Cubs had their first victory since a May 14 game at St. Louis, the Wrigley Field crowd and the Cubs as a team breathed a sigh of relief.

It's temporary, the Cubs still have a long season in front of them.