Certainly it was a two quarterback effort, contributions by both Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler in the Denver title season.
This evokes memories of John Unitas and Earl Morrall, winning it all with the 1970 Baltimore Colts.
More evident in two quarterback title history were Morrall again and Bob Griese with the undefeated Miami Dolphins 1972 champions.
Griese started the first four games, Morrall won the next 11 including a playoff win vs the Cleveland Browns.
In the AFC title tilt at Pittsburgh, coach Don Shula replaced Morrall with Griese who won that game and the Super Bowl vs the Washington Redskins.
Amidst all the talk of the Denver Broncos defense (richly deserved) and Peyton Manning, including whether his brother was happy he won (not deserved), let’s not for get the major contribution Brock Osweiler made to this Broncos’ title season.
Denver, both good and lucky, but that truly is what is needed in sports, if not life, was certainly fortunate that their AFC West rival, Kansas City Chiefs, got off to a (1-5) start, before winning 10 regular season games in succession.
Brock Osweiller was (5-2) as a Denver starting quarterback and made many big plays in their victory vs the Cincinnati Bengals in the last Monday night game, played in the penultimate week of the NFL season.
While Denver kicker, Brandon McManus, no relation to CBS sports head and legendary broadcaster, Jim McKay’s son, Sean McManus, was excellent in the playoffs, he missed a field goal late in regulation, vs the Bengals that essentially forced overtime.
The Broncos had not even clinched a playoff berth and certainly would not have been the AFC one seed and I believe not even the “2,” without that win vs Cincy.
By the way, in turn, with that loss, the Bengals were denied the top two seeds and a first round bye, eventually losing a heartbreaking wild card round game to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The quarterback, who led the must win vs Cincy and did so passing the ball, not relying on the run nor the defense, was not Peyton Manning, but Brock Osweiler.
Two thoughts, if Manning has not been cast in every commercial maybe Osweiler can get some kind of credit card company/”who am I” ad.
Also if Denver is smart, Osweiler and not Manning will be their quarterback next season.
Either way they will not have intangibles, but at least with Osweiler they have some tangibles.
Paul Newman was a truly great actor and humanitarian.
In the latter category, charitable work in his name continues to this day, seven plus years after he passed away.
His marriage to the superb actress Joanne Woodward was a great model for what could happen between two people on so many levels.
Some Paul Newman movie notes involving the drink, gin.
In “The Young Philadelphians,” Mr. Newman’s character, a defense attorney, uses gin drinking as a key in his defense argument.
“The Sting,” an all-time favorite of mine and a truly great film with Newman, Robert Redford and Robert Shaw teaming with incredible character actors, has Newman’s “Henry Gondorff” telling Redford’s “Johnny Hooker,” “Always use gin with a mark, kid they can’t tell if it is watered down.”
Last week the NFL honored the few people who have been at all 50 Super Bowls.
I am not one of them, however am one of the few people with a distinct, not looked up memory of all 50.
One nice memory is from the 6th Super Bowl in which the Dallas Cowboys won their first title after so many near misses beating a Miami Dolphins team that would win the next two Super Bowls.
Late in the first half, a great quarterback beginning his ascent to that description found an all-time great receiver just inside the flag/in bounds for a touchdown.
The quarterback was Roger Staubach. The receiver was Lance Alworth.
The 1974-1975 Golden State Warriors were surprise winners of the NBA crown.
However, only in the finals against the favored Washington Bullets were they sans home advantage.
Additionally, they got to play games 2 and 3 at home which especially after they won game 1 on the road gave them a huge advantage not in correlation for a team with the inferior regular season record.
Yet that should take little, if anything, away from their incredible season which was culminated with a 4 game sweep of the K.C. Jones coached Bullets in the finals.
The fact that a different schedule helped them is a mere footnote to the Rick Barry then Keith Wilkes, deep title team story written that glorious 1974-1975 season, under coach Al Attles.
The great K.C. Jones, pictured above, may have lost in that 1975 NBA final, but he was part of 12 NBA champions, 8 as a player (all in consecutive years 1959-1966), 2 as a head coach (1984 and 1986) and 2 as an assistant coach (1972 and 1981). All but the 1972 title were with the Boston Celtics.
The 1972 title was with the Los Angeles Lakers, who set a then NBA record going (69-13) and still hold the major sports league record of 33 consecutive victories.
The defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors go to the All-Star break with a sensational (48-4) record.
That is the best record in NBA history at this point in the season/the All-Star break.
They have achieved this record under two coaches, Luke Walton and Steve Kerr.
Kerr is the coach. He guided them to the title last season and played on 5 NBA title teams as a player.
Actor Timothy Hutton consulted Coach Kerr regarding his coaching for his role as a basketball coach on the fine show “American Crime” which airs Wednesday nights on ABC.
Luke Walton, pictured above, guided the Warriors for most of the first half of the season.
Tom Brady’s New England Patriots have won 4 Super Bowl titles but never in a game telecast with CBS’ Jim Nantz as the announcer.
Conversely, the Pats have been eliminated in “Nantz games” 7 times.
Meanwhile Peyton Manning’s teams have won 2 Super Bowls, one with the Indianapolis Colts in 2006 and the one 4 days ago with the Denver Broncos.
Also Manning’s teams have been eliminated in “Nantz games,” only 3 times.
I did know all this and saw it coming. Oh well!
Slightly paraphrasing what was said on “The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show,” here’s someone I respect who gets so little publicity.
He is the great, retired NHL goaltender, Martin Brodeur, who just had his number retired by the New Jersey Devils.
All one has to do is look into the rafters where Brodeur’s retired number now “resides” and notice the three Stanley Cup banners, that Martin “backstopped.”
He was one of the best to ever play the position. How little publicity he sought. How little he received.
This was a true great.
While the NHL got back to its regular schedule just two days after its All-Star Game, the NBA, which I just wish would go away, will wait four days.
Despite the greatness of Golden State and to show I still respect the game of basketball, Steph Curry is my choice as Athlete of the Year, only the playoffs matter and the sickening thought of LeBron James riding the weak Eastern Conference to a title looms.
Why didn’t he have the guts to play in the West?
Also how far “you know where” is ESPN regarding James, whom they have hyped, sometimes unfairly in a negative way, but for the most part in a ridiculous positive way, to put him third among all time NBA players.
James better than Wilt Chamberlain or Earvin “Magic” Johnson, are they kidding?!!
Why do I care so much? Also I “feared it” concerning Peyton Manning, who did next to nothing, but won a second title.
Now I truly fear it regarding James, who of course is a great player, but not anywhere near as great as he is perceived by a lazy, always looking for hype, media especially ESPN.
Cleveland is a three and a half to one favorite to win the East. Likely, not definitely Golden State and San Antonio will meet in what should be the final and really push each other. You know the rest.
Surely I will “start in” with James and the East many times before this NBA season is over, largely because so little in the regular season matters. Yet I do and must realize it is a business, and while titles are important and integrity/balance should be, money and opportunity remain dominant.
Perhaps Mr. Greeley above, would have changed his famous suggestion to “Go East, young, gifted, man.”
Alas history and perspective is not some ESPN poll. Thus James’ real greatness while substantial, is relatively tarnished by twice picking his team and staying in one of the most pathetic entities, within which one’s team could gain a finals berth.
The Colorado, specifically Denver area, won its 5th pro title with last Sunday’s Broncos victory vs the Carolina Panthers.
Both its first and fifth came vs teams in two different sports, with the nickname, Panthers.
The first Colorado title was achieved by the NHL Avalanche, vs the Florida Panthers in the 1996 NHL finals.
Now this Broncos title, vs the Carolina Panthers.
Off the top of my head, only two other cities/regions have won titles in a final in two different sports, against teams with the same nickname.
Chicago did so vs “Giants” teams, each from New York.
The White Sox beat the New York Giants in the 1917 World Series and then did not win another title for 88 years.
The NFL Chicago Bears are (4-2) vs the New York Giants in games for the NFL crown, winning in the first title game in 1933 and also in 1941, 1946 and 1963.
The city of Philadelphia beat teams with the nickname “Cardinals” for titles in two different sports. A great Philadelphia Athletics team beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1930 World Series before falling to the Pepper Martin led Cardinals a year later.
That denied the A’s a third straight title, something the franchise, still the Athletics ,did achieve 40 plus years later in Oakland. No other non Yankees team has ever accomplished that feat in baseball.
The Philadelphia Eagles also beat a “Cardinals” team for a title.
That was a reverse ,in a sense, of what happened in the baseball finals in consecutive years between Philadelphia and the Cardinals.
In 1948 the Eagles beat the Chicago Cardinals for the NFL crown after losing to them the year before.
Write in with any other examples.
Pepper Martin had 12 hits as the St. Louis Cardinals dethroned the two time champion Philadelphia Athletics in the 1931 World Series.
