Quarterbacks Dominate Top 10 Finalists for NCAA Division III Gagliardi Trophy
Nine quarterbacks and one running back are finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy, awarded each year to honor the outstanding NCAA Division III football player. Sponsored by Jostens and the Saint John’s University, Minnesota, J-Club, the Gagliardi Trophy recognizes excellence in athletics, academics and community service.
The winner of the Gagliardi Trophy is selected by a national selection committee comprised of coaches, sports writers, community leaders and former Division III student-athletes enshrined in the National Collegiate Football Hall of Fame. This will be the second year fans will be able to rank the 10 finalists and cast an electronic ballot that collectively will be added to the 35 votes of the national selection committee. Ballots may be cast immediately through 12:00 p.m. CST on Tuesday, December 9 at http://www.d3football.com/. Fans may only vote one time.
The trophy is named for Saint John’s University head football coach John Gagliardi, the first active head coach to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (Class of 2006) and the winningest coach in college football history with a record of 461-125-11 (.781). Gagliardi set the all-time win record on November 8, 2003.
The 16th annual Gagliardi award will be presented on Thursday, December 18, in Salem, Va., as part of the festivities leading up to the Division III National Championship game played in Salem on Saturday, December 20.
NCAA Division III Gagliardi Trophy Finalists:
Jordan Berg, Augsburg College (Minnesota) senior QB, West Region is a resident of Gaylord, Minnesota. At 6-2, 207, he is an all-conference performer and finished the season ranked number two in Division III in pass completions per game with 29.7, ranked number three in total passing yards with 3,226 and threw for over 300 yards in six games. He is a physics major with a 3.80 GPA and volunteers at a local food shelf and with the Boys and Girls Clubs.
Jason Boltus, Hartwick College (New York) senior QB, East Region is a resident of Baldwinsville, New York. At 6-4, 220, he topped the nation in 2008 with a single-game mark of 558 yards passing and led the nation with an average of 397.6 yards passing per game and is ranked number three in passing efficiency at 172.9. He is a pre-med major and is active with the Student-Athlete Advisory Board, campus blood drive and Habit for Humanity.
Justin Feaster, Hardin-Simmons University (Texas) junior QB, South Region is a resident of Glen Rose, Texas. At 6-1, 210, he led team to a 9-1 record and berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs. He threw for 2,717 yards and 27 touchdowns, rushed for 7 touchdowns and ranked number five nationally in passing efficiency at 171.64. He is a two-time academic all-conference winner as an education and economics major and a Special Olympics volunteer.
Juan Joseph, Millsaps College (Mississippi) senior QB, South Region is a resident of Edgard, Louisiana. At 6-2, 188, he completed nearly 70% of his passes for 2,778 yards and 28 touchdowns. He helped his NCAA playoff team attain Millsaps’ first ever 10-victory season and is a candidate for the Conerly Trophy as the state’s top player. A business major, he is a member of the Black Student Association and involved with the Deuce McCallister Catch 22 Foundation.
Greg Micheli, Mount Union College (Ohio) senior QB, North Region is a resident of Upper Sandusky, Ohio. At 6-3, 203, he is the nation’s number one passer with a 215.8 rating on 28 touchdowns with only two interceptions. He directed the nation’s top offense (551.43 yards/game) in a return to the playoffs. With a 3.84 GPA in physics and math, he is a semifinalist for Draddy Trophy, a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and volunteers in an elementary school program.
Jack Rafferty, Otterbein College (Ohio) post-grad QB, North Region is a resident of Columbus, Ohio. At 6-1, 195, he led the team to a 9-1 record and post-season berth. His pass efficiency rating at 162.2 was number 11 in the nation. A religion major, he received the college’s New Testament Award and is presently pursuing a masters in business administration. He volunteers by serving food at a local food kitchen.
Chad Rupp, Franklin College (Indiana) senior QB, North Region is a resident of Evansville, Indiana. At 6-1, 200, with a 7-0 league record, he helped his team win its second straight conference championship NCAA berth. He threw 32 touchdown passes and ranked number eight in passing efficiency (166.7). He is a recreation (physical education) major and volunteers at Second Helpings, an Indianapolis mission and has helped raise funds for Special Olympics.
Dominic Sulo, North Central College (Illinois) junior RB, West Region is a resident of Oak Forest, Illinois. At 5-10, 200, he is the conference rushing leader and averaged 5.4 yards per carry. He helped his team go 10-0 for a NCAA playoff berth and had five games with over 100 yards rushing. A marketing and management major, he is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and active with the “Into the Streets” volunteer initiative.
Bobby Swallow, Washington and Jefferson College (Pennsylvania) senior QB, East Region is a resident of Salem, Ohio. At 6-2, 210, the conference MVP guided his team to the playoffs. Ranked number nine nationally in passing efficiency at 166.5, he threw for 33 touchdowns this year. A business administration major, he is active with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, peer mentor program, Relay for Life and Special Olympics.
Dan Whalen, Case Western Reserve (Ohio) junior QB, North Region is a resident of Cleveland, Ohio. He is a four-time conference athlete of the week and led the league with 1,973 passing yards and passing efficiency at 155.4. He threw for 17 touchdowns and rushed for four on the way to the NCAA playoffs. An English and psychology major, he interned at Sports Illustrated, writes for the student paper and volunteers with a Cleveland youth program.
Additional information can be found at http://www.gojohnnies.com/gagliarditrophy
Jostens
Minneapolis-based Jostens is a provider of products, programs and services that help people inspire achievement and preserve memories. The company’s products include school yearbooks and memory books, OurHubbub(TM) brand MemoryBooks, scholastic products such as class rings and graduation products, and products for athletic champions and their fans. Jostens is a subsidiary of Visant Corporation, a marketing and publishing services enterprise servicing the school affinity, direct marketing, fragrance and cosmetics sampling and educational publishing markets.
Verizon to Offer NFL Network’s ‘Thursday Night Football’ Nov. 27 Matchup, Arizona Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Eagles, Live to Wireline Broadband Customers
Verizon is offering NFL Network’s “Thursday Night Football” matchup on Nov. 27, Arizona Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Eagles, live on the Internet via Verizon’s NFL Network Game Extra Service for broadband subscribers who also subscribe to NFL Network.
WHAT: NFL Network Game Extra provides subscribers with an interactive broadcast, allowing fans to select from multiple camera angles, get up-to-the-minute game statistics, drive chart simulations, on-demand video highlights, live chats with other NFL Network Game Extra viewers and live audio feeds. To view a demo of the NFL Game Extra service, go to: http://nflntour.verizon.net/.
WHERE: To watch the game, customers log on to their Verizon consumer broadband accounts and access through the Surround entertainment site (http://www.verizon.net/nfl).Games can be viewed at home or using any broadband connection to log on remotely. NFL Game Extra is free for Verizon broadband customers.
WHEN: Arizona Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Eagles 8 p.m. Eastern, Thursday (Nov. 27)
KFC Teams Up With NFL to Wing the Colonel Onto the Marketing World’s Biggest Stage
Kentucky Fried Chicken and National Football League Ink Agreement to Make KFC’s Award-Winning Wings the ‘Official Wing Sponsor’ of the NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl XLIII
Kentucky Fried Chicken announced the first-ever sponsorship agreement between the iconic chicken chain and the National Football League to make KFC’s world-famous chicken wings the “Official Wing Sponsor” of this year’s NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl XLIII.
The sponsorship includes rights to depict the NFL shield and the Super Bowl XLIII logos on KFC’s Wings buckets and on 32 oz. NFL promotional drink cups and other packaging, as well as television advertising, online presence and in-store signage. Consumers who purchase a 32 oz. drink in an NFL promotional cup will have a chance to win one of several NFL prizes including a trip to Super Bowl XLIV in South Florida in 2010, flat-panel TVs and NFL.com gift certificates.
Two American Favorites Come Together
KFC’s wings made big news recently by taking first place honors in the Traditional Barbecue Sauce category during KFC’s first-ever appearance at the National Buffalo Wing Festival in Buffalo, N.Y. After more than 560,000 wings (27 tons) were served at the legendary Labor Day weekend wing festival, KFC’s Honey BBQ sauce topped all other Traditional Barbecue Sauce entries.
“It seems only fitting for America’s favorite chicken wing to sponsor America’s favorite sport on the game’s biggest stage,” said Javier Benito, executive vice president of marketing and food innovation for KFC. “It’s exciting for KFC to have ‘wing season’ news to share during the NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl.”
America Loves KFC’s Wings
The world’s largest chicken chain sells more chicken wings than any other restaurant and ranks as the only national chain offering wings via the drive-thru. The Super Bowl is the peak of the wing season with Americans eating more than 90 million pounds of chicken wings during the weekend of the Big Game, according to the National Chicken Council. That’s more than 720 million wings, or two-plus wings eaten over two days for every American man, woman and child.
Visit http://www.kfc.com/ for information about KFC and to find a store near you.
Source: KFC Corporation
McKool Smith Announces $28.1 Million Verdict In Retired NFL Players Lawsuit
More than 2,000 retired professional football players scored a major legal victory in a San Francisco federal courtroom today when jurors awarded a $28.1 million verdict against the National Football League Players Association and its licensing and marketing division.
The verdict reached before the Hon. William Allsup in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California requires the NFLPA union and its subsidiary, Players Inc., to compensate thousands of retired players. Jurors found that the defendants breached their fiduciary duty by failing to market retired players’ licensing rights under a group licensing authorization contract covering the licensing of electronic games, collectables and other merchandise. The verdict included $21 million in punitive damages.
The jury of eight women and two men reached their decision following nearly three weeks of trial. The original claim was filed nearly two years ago with professional football legend Herb Adderley as the class representative.
Mr. Adderley and the victorious former NFL players were represented by attorneys from the national law firms of McKool Smith, P.C., and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. The McKool Smith team included firm principal Lew LeClair, senior counsel Jill Naylor and associates Brett Charhon and Anthony Garza. The Manatt, Phelps group included firm partners Ronald S. Katz, Chad S. Hummel and L. Peter Parcher, in addition to associates Ryan S. Hilbert and Noel S. Cohen.
“This verdict is a great victory for the men who devoted their lives to building professional football,” says Mr. LeClair of McKool Smith, attorney for the retired players. “We are thankful the jury decided to right this wrong.”
During trial, several former NFL stars testified about the benefits promised by the union that were never received, and the difficulties in gaining information about the NFLPA’s finances and licensing agreements.
McKool Smith has more than 95 attorneys in Dallas, Austin, Marshall, New York and Washington, D.C., handling commercial and intellectual property litigation for national and international clients. The firm is recognized as one of the premier litigation law firms in the United States, having earned significant courtroom victories for clients such as American Airlines, BearingPoint, Ericsson, Electronic Data Systems, Medtronic Inc., and Sony Ericsson.