Beating the NFL

Travis Henry did the inevitable on Wednesday afternoon, he won a court case over the National Football League.

Henry was accused of breaking the NFL's substance abuse policy by failing a marijuana test in September. Henry sued the NFL to avoid suspension.

Henry's rebuttal: "It was second hand smoke."

What a joke right? Well he threw a fastball by Commissioner Roger Goodell and it worked.

There has got to be more this. Players just don't win against the NFL. It is very rare.

I got a little advice for Henry now that this is passed him: Stay off the hippy lettuce and start producing.

Bronco fans are impatient and spoiled. Shanahan can go out on the street and find some bum to run for over 1,000 yards in a season so get it together Travis.

BCS on "Hot Seat"

Let the arguments begin.

Did the Bowl Championship Series set up the best two teams in college football to play for the National Championship in New Orleans?

I have followed the BCS since it was established in 1999 and they have done a good job some years and other years they have failed.

This year they got it right.

They selected the Big Ten Champions, Ohio State University and the Southeastern Conference Champions, Louisiana State University. The two teams will face off on January 7th to be crowned champion.

Some people will argue that Ohio State doesn't deserved to be there because they played a week non-conference schedule and the Big Ten was down this season. But folks, this is still the Big Ten and Ohio State only lost one game to Illinois and they are headed to Pasadena to take on Pac-10 Champion Southern California in the Rose Bowl.

And as for LSU, well they play in the SEC and that is hands down the toughest conference in the nation no matter what USC and the Pac-10 think. Obviously the BCS agrees because USC won the Pac-10 and where is USC going again?

Outside the national championship game, who knows what the BCS was doing in selecting their other four games.

How does Kansas get in a BCS game over Missouri? The same Missouri that beat them eight days ago and represented the Big-12 North in the Big-12 title game.

Hawaii met all the requirements they had to in order to reach a BCS game and got in but are they a top 12 team in the nation? I guess we will find out when they play a hot, if not the hottest team in college football in the Georgia Bulldogs at the Orange Bowl.

Obviously all the teams in BCS games are beatable because all of these teams have at least one loss this season.

Tournament anyone?

Windy City Flyer beats Broncos

"If you kick to me, you are brave." The exact words that Devin Hester said when he was playing in college for the University of Miami.

Those words still stand true in the NFL for Hester.

The second year return man has already returned 10 kickoff/punt returns for a touchdown in his first 27 games as a pro. The most kick/punt returns for a touchdown in a career is 13 by Brian Mitchell.

Apparently the Denver Broncos are brave, very brave.

The Broncos elected to punt to Hester early in the second half and Hester took it to the house.

Did the Broncos learn their lesson? Nope. They kicked off to Hester later in the second half after a Bronco touchdown and once again Hester took it right back to the end zone.

It is remarkable to watch but it is so much more fun to watch Hester when he is not playing your team.

Hester single-handily kept the Bears in the game and gave quarterback Rex Grossman a chance to cause overtime. Grossman did just that and the Bears won the game in overtime 37-34.

It is hard to say who is to blame for the Broncos kicking to Hester but if any NFL coaches out their are reading my blog I got one thing to say, don't try and be brave.

Good finish but glad it's over

Finally it has ended. Notre Dame's football season has come to a close and as weird as it sounds, Irish fans couldn't be happier.

The season didn't end so bad though. The Irish ended the season with a home win against Duke and a win at Stanford.

It is good for a group of young players to build some confidence but in all honesty, it was against Duke and Stanford. Two teams that are just not very impressive.

So what is next for this Notre Dame team? Recruit and regroup.

Head coach Charlie Weis will not make the trip home with the team because he will stay in California and try to pick high school players away from arch rival Southern California. Wouldn't that have Irish eyes smiling?

After recruiting, Weis will meet up with his buddies on the New England Patriots coaching staff to review the season and get some pointers from Patriots genius head coach Bill Belichick.

The next thing you know it's time to start spring practice.

Please Charlie, don't make us go through another season like this ever again.

Signed, Irish fans.

AFC West Circus: Get your tickets

Fans piled into Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday to watch the 4-4 Kansas City Chiefs host the 3-5 Denver Broncos. Little did they know that not only were they getting to witness a battle between divisional rivals, they were also getting a front row seat to the circus.

Up and down and round and round the AFC West goes, who will end up on top, nobody knows.

The San Diego Chargers, after beginning the season 1-3, have found their way to the top of the division with a 5-4 record. They can thank the best field goal kicker in the NFL, Adam Vinatieri of the Indianapolis Colts, for missing a chip-shot game winning field goal in the final minute of the Chargers win over the Colts Sunday night. If Vinatieri makes the field, the AFC West has a three way tie for first place.

The Broncos defeated the Chiefs 27-11 and now both teams are sitting at 4-5. The Oakland Raiders, well, they are just being the Raiders. At the cellar of the West at 2-7.

It is the Broncos though that has stole the show so far.

One week the team comes out and competes with the 8-1 Green Bay Packers until the final minutes of the game, and should have won the game I would add, then the next week they get blown out by the now 6-3 Detroit Lions 44-7.

The Broncos beat the 7-2 Pittsburgh Steelers a week after they were embarrassed at home by the Chargers 41-3.

It is hard to say which Broncos team will take the field on Monday Night Football this week against the Tennessee Titans but I promise Bronco fans will be on the edge of their seat waiting to find out.

Even the Ringling Brothers think this will be a good circus the rest of the way.

Can't win on the scoreboard, but winning recruiting battle

The Notre Dame Fightin' Irish lost another game this past Saturday at home to the Air Force Academy 41-24. Some things just never change in South Bend this season.

I guess it is just time for Notre Dame faithful to look in the mirror and say, "You know what? We just suck." There is no defending the team anymore. There is no progress and once it looks like the Irish take one step forward, they take two steps back.

There is one bright spot right now and it isn't even happening between the lines. It is actually happening under Friday night lights.

Notre Dame is winning the recruiting battle as of right now. This could change by February when national signing day for high school recruits is scheduled. Recruits have until that day to decide on their college. A recruit has the freedom to commit to a college but can de-commit if they have not officially signed.

As of right now the Irish have verbal commits from two 5-star recruits and fifteen 4-star recruits. According to Rivals.com rankings, this is the most impressive recruiting class in the nation so far.

This may be shocking to many that a team with one win is winning the recruiting battle. So how is Weis doing it?

I will tell you how.

When a head coach comes into a recruits house, and he is wearing three Super Bowl rings, you might think that this guy (Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis) knows something.

Keep doing work Chuck.

Another blowout puts Shannahan on hot seat

Not only did the Detroit Lions embarrass the Denver Broncos Sunday afternoon 44-7, it may start rumors that Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan's coaching days in Denver are running short.

But, the talks will be between the media and fans, not the organization.

Owner Pat Bowlen thinks very highly of Shanahan and recently gave him a contract extension that will last through 2011.

Shanahan has been regarded as one of the most intelligent "X's and O's" coaches in the National Football League for years. His play calling ability has been phenomenal throughout his tenure as the Broncos head coach. What else would you expect from an apprentice of the late Bill Walsh?

The question has now shifted to Shanahan's personnel decisions in the draft and the free agent market in the off season.

There are only four players on the starting offense that were drafted by Shanahan and four on defense. Bowlen has let Shanahan take the reins on personnel decision and that has not worked in the organizations favor. Shanahan has relied on older veterans in free agency to fill in weak spots of the team. This philosophy has not particularly worked out.

If Bowlen is committed more to the Broncos winning than he is Shanahan, he may need to address this situation soon. He may not need to fire the coach but think about taking some power away from him.

Echoes are in a deep sleep

'Wake up the echoes' is part of the Notre Dame fight song. There is supposed to be something special about Notre Dame, a mystique that nobody in college football has. Being a team from a catholic school, they are considered "God's team" and they are supposed to have that special something on their side.

But it isn't there. It used to be but not anymore.

Not even Navy gets weak at the knees when they play Notre Dame.

In the past decade, Notre Dame has had some close calls in their 43-game winning streak against the Midshipmen and Saturday the streak was ended.

Navy defeated the Irish 46-44 in triple overtime.

This type of thing makes me, as well as all the Notre Dame fans, think that the Irish have lost the edge.

Charlie Weis was supposed to be the savior and bring the Irish back to college football's elite. Weis made fans believe that he was doing just that in the past two seasons but not one Notre Dame coach has lost to Navy in 43 years.

Why would a high school recruit want to go to South Bend and play for a team that might only get three wins this season?

My beloved Fightin' Irish might need to take the "Fightin'" part off their name real soon.

Congratulations Navy.

Best Saturday of the Year

The Irish finally reached their bye week and I couldn't of been happier about it.

I didn't have to wake up Saturday morning and listen to the College Gameday crew talk about how bad Notre Dame is and how bad they would get beaten that day.

I didn't have to watch the awful Notre Dame offense struggle to score points.

I didn't even have to watch the Irish offense struggle to get first downs.

I didn't have to watch the defense, well, not play defense.

I didn't have to watch Mark May on Saturday night as he and other ESPN analysts cut the Irish up some more.

Besides Notre Dame's only win at UCLA this season, this Saturday was the best one so far.

Keep recruiting Charlie.

Where did that come from?

When one of the top rushing teams in the NFL plays the worst rush defense in the NFL, that usually spells disaster for the team that can't stop the run. That team has been the Denver Broncos.

Not Sunday.

The three-point underdog Denver Broncos played well enough in all phases of the game to beat the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers 31-28.

While Denver did a decent job against the Pittsburgh running attach, the biggest surprise of the game was the Broncos ability to put pressure on Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The defensive line consistently had Roethlisberger scrambling to find an open reciever.

The play that may have won the game for the Broncos was a sack by Denver defensive end Elvis Dumervil. The sack forced a Roethlisberger fumble and Denver rookie defensive tackle Tim Crowder picked the ball up and ran it in for a touchdown.

Similar to my Fightin'Irish boys over the weekend, the Broncos wore alternate uniforms. They dawned the regular blue home jerseys but wore blue pants instead of the traditional white pants.

At least the alternate uniform worked for one of my teams.

If only it really was 1977

When the Notre Dame Fightin' Irish took the field on Saturday afternoon against arch nemesis Southern California, they were sporting the famous "green jerseys." The difference this time was that they were not the dark green jerseys that have been worn in recent years, they were the 1977 "throwback" jerseys.

The team decided to wear them in honor of the 30Th anniversary of the 1977 National Championship team.

It would have been nice to honor that team with a good performance but that didn't happen. Actually, that wasn't even close to the case. Southern California embarrassed the Irish 38-0.

The green jerseys are only used on special occasions and for good luck. They haven't been so lucky of late.

The last time Notre Dame wore the green jersey's against Southern Cal was in 2005. The game will go down as one of the greatest games in college football history but the Irish still didn't win that one.

The Irish have lost five of their last six games in green and have a career record of 4-5.

It's almost time to put the green jerseys away for a while but at least they look good right?

Broncos running back might get suspension

Things just got worse a few weeks ago for the Denver Broncos when reports came out that running back Travis Henry had tested positive for marijuana.

Henry has filed a federal lawsuit against the National Football League regarding the drug test results. He claims that his experts did not witness the tests.

If the reports are true, Henry could face a year long suspension and miss the remainder of the 2007 season.

The Broncos will be able to take back money from the 12 million dollars guarenteed on Henry's contract.

Please get that money back Pat Bowlen and spend it on a defensive lineman that can help stop the run.

More than likely Henry will appeal if he is suspended, which will delay his return even longer. If his suspension does not start until mid-season in 2007, he will not return to the Broncos until midway through the 2008 campaign.

Henry is one of the few bright spots for the Broncos so far this season. The team is 2-3 but Henry has produced solid numbers.

Is football season over yet?

I have express my love for the game of football. I have expressed my passion for Notre Dame football and Denver Bronco football.

Two programs that are used to winning and their fans are used to cheering.

Being as both of these teams are having forgettable seasons (Notre Dame 1-5, Broncos 2-3), I have learned a lot about being a fan of these two squads.

I am spoiled.

There are a lot of fans out there that deal with losses year in and year out.

The Irish were expected to struggle so I was already prepared for that. The Broncos, on the other hand, were supposed to contend for a Super Bowl. It hasn't showed and this past Sunday the Broncos and their fans reached the lowest of lows. The Broncos were crushed by the San Diego Changers 41-3 at home.

I guess my prediction about LaDainian Tomlinson running all over the Broncos defense didn't turn out to be true but his running mate, Michael Turner, ran for 147 yards.

It was the worst Bronco home loss since 1966 and defiantly the worst Bronco game I have ever watched in my lifetime.

But do you know what? I still love them.

Streak over, Irish win

Last week the Notre Dame Fightin' Irish football team showed signs of life and the momentum the Irish gained from the fourth quarter at Purdue carried over to this past Saturday. The Irish ended a seven game losing streak with a win at UCLA 20-6.

Head coach Charlie Weis elected to stick with freshman Jimmy Clausen at quarterback even though some fans and writers were calling for a quarterback change. The offense did not put up great numbers but they did enough to win.

The real story was the defense. Senior linebacker Maurice Crum Jr. recorded seven tackles, one forced fumble, two interceptions and a touchdown to lead the Irish to victory.

On Sunday, Crum Jr. was named Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week.

So is this team better than most people think? The Irish were not supposed to go into the Rose Bowl and beat a much better team.

Maybe this victory does prove that this team has potential but they are just young and need time to gel.

We will find out how far off the Irish are from top ranked teams when they take on rival Boston College on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium. Boston College is currently ranked fourth in the nation.

Three words...Stop, The, Run!

Another trip to the RCA Dome gone bad for the Denver Broncos.

Twice in the last five years the Broncos have had playoff meetings with the Indianapolis Colts in Indianapolis. In both of those games the Broncos were blown out.

Last Sunday was not a playoff game but other beat down trend continued.

The Colts beat the Broncos 38-20 in Indianapolis this past Sunday afternoon. Usually the beat down in Indy is credited to Peyton Manning's arm but not this time. The legs of Colts running back Joseph Addai was too much for the Broncos defense.

If you haven't noticed, running on the Broncos defense has become a reoccurring theme for Bronco opponents.

There are no more excuses to be made. The Broncos run defense is horrible. There is not a better word out there to describe it. It is downright horrible.

D.J. Williams has not stepped in and been the leader on the defense that the Broncos coaching staff hoped. Champ Bailey is arguably the best defensive player in the game but unfortunately he does not line up for the Broncos front seven. Bailey can only cover opponents wide receivers and he does an incredible job at it. Thanks Champ.

So why throw at Bailey if you can run the ball down their throat? That's what teams in the NFL are saying and that is what they are doing.

It doesn't get any easier for the Broncos defense this weekend. The NFL's 2006 player of the year comes to Invesco Field at Mile High on Sunday. His name is LaDainian Tomlinson and yes, he is a running back.

Try and guess what the San Diego Chargers' offensive game plan is for this weekends game in Denver?

Quarterback debate....again?

Offense? The Notre Dame Fightin' Irish football team doesn't play offense. Not in 2007 anyway. Or do they?

In a 33-19 loss to in-state rival Purdue this past Saturday, the Irish put up 426 yards of total offense. This was an every week occurrence for the 2005 and 2006 Irish offense but things have changed in the A.B.Q (After Brady Quinn) era. Saturday was the first sign of life all season for a sputtering offense.

With an injury to starting quarterback Jimmy Clausen, junior backup Evan Sharpley completed 16 of 26 pass attempts for 208 yards and two touchdowns. The offense seemed much more organized with Sharpley calling the signals and the play of his teammates made it seem as if they were responding.

Here we go again. Another quarterback debate is underway in South Bend, similar to the one just before the start of the season. Some still think benching a highly recruited freshman quarterback in Clausen will hurt his confidence. Others believe that an 0-5 Notre Dame team needs a senior leader such as Sharley taking the snaps.

This is why Charlie Weis is paid the big bucks. Weis will choose between Sharpley and Clausen to lead the Notre Dame offense before next Saturday's game against UCLA in Pasadena, Calif. The game will be nationally televised at 8 o'clock eastern standard time on ABC.

Good call?....Bad call?

The question that has been argued since the Broncos loss on Sunday to the Jacksonville Jaguars is whether or not Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan should have or should not have gone for it on fourth down from inside his own 10 yard-line with four minutes and ten seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Shanahan went for it and Broncos tight end Daniel Graham dropped a pass across the middle that would have been enough for the first down. The Broncos went on to lose the game 14-23.

"I just had a gut feeling with the way they were controlling the tempo of the game that that would give us the best chance to win," Shanahan said. "And it almost turned out good."

Let the criticism and debate begin.

I will go ahead and say that Shanahan made the right decision. Some would disagree but he absolutely had to go for it. If the Broncos would have punted the Jags would have taken over possession around mid-field and the Broncos had no time outs. With the way the Broncos had been stopping the run, or should I say not stopping the run, the Jags would have got in field goal range and finished off the Broncos anyway.

Others will argue that Shanahan should have given his defense a chance to stop the Jags and force a punt. Yeah, that same Broncos rush defense that is ranked 29Th out of 32 teams in the National Football League.

I still say that even if Denver would have stopped them on three downs, the Broncos wouldn't have taken over possession until close to a minute left. At that point, the Broncos would have had to travel the length of the field with no timeouts.

If you have any opinion on Shanahan's decision, please let me know. I would love to hear what you have to say.

Notre Dame hits all time low

For the first time in the 119 year history of Notre Dame football, the Irish have started a season with an 0-4 record.

Notre Dame lost its second home game of the season to long time rival Michigan State 14-31 Saturday afternoon. The Irish went into the locker room at halftime only down 14-17 and feeling good about the offensive production. The sputtering Notre Dame offense had finally scored their first two offensive touchdowns of the season.

The second half didn't go as expected as the Spartans scored 14 unanswered points.

The fourth straight loss started to raise questions about whether or not head coach Charlie Weis should be fired. The intriguing thing about all these questions is that they are being raised by the media, not Notre Dame faithful. Writers and TV annalist have started reminding everyone that Tyrone Willingham, Notre Dame head coach before Charlie Weis took over, was fired after a 6-6 record in his third season with Notre Dame . Weis more than likely will not come close to winning six games in his third season.

So why isn't Notre Dame fans breathing down Weis' neck? In Weis' first two years at Notre Dame, he had already led the team to more Bowl Championship Series (BCS) appearances than the team had ever been to before. Two years, two BCS appearances. Everything was good and as bad as it looks right now, Notre Dame believes everything is still good.

If the media did their research they would see that the team is young, they just acquired a top 15 recruiting class this season and as of right now the Irish are ranked number one in the recruiting race of 2008. Good things are coming for "my boys" so enjoy it now if you are a Notre Dame hater.

I stand by you Charlie.

Ugly win leaves concern

You can chalk the Denver Broncos up for another win but it was not a pretty one. Again the leg of Jason Elam bailed out the Broncos as they beat their division rival Oakland Raiders 23-20 in overtime.

Bronco fans are thankful or should be thankful their team is 2-0 but I am here to say their is a bit of concern.

The offense has looked impressive in the first two week of the season. In fact, the team has averaged 455 yards of offense in the first two games. So whats the problem? The Broncos have only scored 38 points. For the second year in a row, fans are grumbling about the red-zone offense. Cecil Sapp left, Travis Henry right and Travis Henry up the middle on first and goal from the nine just isn't working.

Another concern Bronco fans have is the run defense. The team gave up a career high of 159 yards rushing to Raiders running back LaMont Jordan. It basically looked like the Bronco's defensive linemen were on roller skates.

The whole idea of bringing in 350 pound defensive tackle Sam Adams was to pug running holes and allow the linebackers to make the tackles. This has yet to be scene.

The Broncos look to improve the rush defense Sunday afternoon when they host the Jacksonville Jaguars at Invesco Field at Mile High.

A big (house) step backwards

The offense, defense, special team and anything else that could go wrong for a football team did for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday as the win less Michigan Wolverines embarrassed the Irish 38-0 in the Big House.

The embarrassment began on the first snap of the game as Notre Dame center John Sullivan snapped the ball over the head of freshman running back Armando Allen. Allen jumped on the ball at the Irish one-yard-line. Let the circus show begin.

The Irish lost 14 yards on the play and the negative rushing yards on the season continued to add up.

By the end of the game, highly talented freshman Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen was pulled from the game probably in hopes to save his life. The Michigan defense battered the young signal caller all day long.

After the game, head coach Charlie Weis said he was embarrassed.

You are not alone Charlie. I am embarrassed too but I stand next to you and the rest of the young men you take to battle next week against Michigan State.

Keep working hard and things will get better.

Broncos win but game put into perspective again

The Denver Broncos squeaked out an exciting win in week one of the NFL season.

With 14 seconds left in opener at Buffalo, Bronco quarterback Jay Cutler completed a pass down to the Buffalo 23 yard line to wide receiver Javon Walker. The offense rushed off the field as the field-goal unit of the Broncos rushed on the field. What a fiasco I must say it was. Bronco coaches, players and fans back in Denver had a abnormally high heart rate as the snap got off with one second remaining and kicker Jason Elam kicked a game winning 40-yard field goal as time expired. The Broncos won the game 15-14.

The win was spectacular for the Broncos organization and fans but once again, even after the murder of Bronco cornerback Darrent Williams and passing of running back Damian Nash in the offseason, the game of football was put into perspective.

On the opening kick-off of the second half, tight end Kevin Everett of the Buffalo Bills suffered a spinal cord injury. Everett was carted off the field and was rushed to a hospital for emergency surgery. Initial reports said that Everett would never walk again but progress has been made in recent hours. Everett has moved his arms and legs under his own power in the last 24 hours.

It just shows, once again, that football is a game and it can be taken from you at any moment.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Kevin Everett, his family, and the rest of the Buffalo Bills organization.

Positive losses....If there is such a thing

Now I know I have explained to you that I love Notre Dame football with my life but I don't think you all really understand the extent of my obsession. When I talk about the Irish, I use the word "we" as if I am apart of the team. I am not one of those fair weather fans that will say "we" won and then turn around the next week referring to the Irish and say "they" lost. When my boys lose, I lose. When my boys win, I win.

We are now two weeks into the college football season and yes, my beloved Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is 0-2. Did I expect this? Yeah, kind of. I knew we were going to struggle. I mean how can you lose the most prolific passer in Notre Dame history and first round draft pick in Brady Quinn and not have some what of a let down the next season.

I don't want to make excuses for being winless so far this season and I am not going to. I am just stating the fact that we lost some fire power and we have work to do but the Irish will improve.

It started this past week with finally settling on a starting quarterback to replace Quinn. Highly recruited freshman quarterback Jimmy Clausen took over the reigns against Penn State this past Saturday and head coach Charlie Weis says he will be the man the rest of the way. In the opening game loss to Georgia Tech, Weis started sophmore quarterback Demetrius Jones, then shuffled in junior Evan Sharpley and Clausen.

Clausen looked posed in his first start in front of 110,078 Penn State fans even though the Nittany Lions won the game 31-10. Watching Clausen gave me a reason to believe my boys have a positive future ahead.

We will go through rough times as Clausen and the rest of this young Irish team gains experience but I can promise you the Irish will be back.

Defense upgrades before Week 1

We are only a few days away until Bronco fans jump in a spaceship and blast off for the 2007 NFL season.

With bad performances late in the season by the Denver Broncos defense, coach Mike Shanahan spent the off-season revamping their defensive scheme. He hired Jim Bates away from the Miami Dolphins, a coach considered by many as a defensive genius. Bates has installed a 3-4 defense which is not familiar to current Denver Bronco defenders who usually have run the traditional 4-3 defense.

The defense that Bates wants to run requires two cornerbacks that can cover man-to-man coverage, and do it well. Champ Bailey is arguably the best "shut down" cornerback in the league. With the murder of Broncos cornerback, Darrent Williams, the Broncos needed another corner. So what did Bates and the Broncos do? Traded for arguably the second best cover man in the NFL, Dre Bly.

The defense is designed for defensive ends to let loose and get after the quarterback. There is one little problem with that: the Broncos don't have anyone that has proven themselves as a consistent pass rusher. The team is excited about first-round draft pick Jarvis Moss and second year player Elvis Dumervil, but neither of them are experienced nor proven.

Don't worry Bronco fans, Shanahan and owner Pat Bowlen had another trick up their sleeve this week. The team has signed 11-year veteran and sack specialist Simeon Rice to a one year deal. Rice practiced with the team today for the first time but the team is unsure whether Rice will contribute in the season opener on Sunday at Buffalo.

Rice has 121 career sacks but is returning from off-season shoulder surgery. Lets just hope the new defensive scheme and the addition of Rice is the missing piece of the Super Bowl puzzle for the Broncos.

About me

My full name is Justin Robert Roush and I was born in Denver, Colo. Both of my parents grew up in Arvada, Colo. and attended Pomona High School. My parents wed in 1985 and I was born in June of that same year.

My Dad took a job when I was 1-year-old in Sterling Heights, Mich. While living in Michigan, my mom gave birth to my little sister, Ashley, in 1989. Our family lived there for five years and while living in Michigan, my love for sports began.

My father was a college baseball player at Regis University in Denver but was an overall good athlete at everything. He had me playing with baseballs, footballs, basketballs and soccer balls as soon as I could stand up. He never forced it upon me according to my mom but I kind of doubt that. She claims I just loved throwing the football about two feet and laugh and go pick it up and do it again.

While I loved playing sports at such a young age, I also loved watching sports. I understood football really well at a young age(once again according to my parents) and my first favorite team became apparent while we lived in Michigan. Being as we lived in "Big Blue" country, I became a Michigan Wolverine football fan much to my dad's discretion. My dad grew up a Notre Dame fan and would of much rathered me be a Notre Dame fan. His wish of his son being a Notre Dame fan eventually became a reality and lets just say I took it to another level.

When my family and I moved back to Denver in 1991 I still stood strong as a Wolverine fan. As time past though, I lost my love for Michigan football because their games were not nationally televised every week while another team was. That team was Notre Dame.

I began cheering for and watching the Irish every Saturday with my Dad and Grandpa and found a passion in my life that has never changed and never will. I would cry when the Irish would lose until I was 12 or 13 years old. I loved this team will all my heart.

My love for Notre Dame fooball is only slightly greater than my love for Denver Bronco football. It's kind of like I have two girlfriends. One is for Saturday and the other is for Sunday.

My grandpa, who I call "Papa," has owned season tickets to the Broncos since the 70's. I have gone to most of the games with him for as long as I can remember. I watched the Broncos through the John Elway years and I can't even start on how much I love that guy! I am as loyal as it gets to the Denver Broncos. If Mike Shannahan says this is the team he's putting on the field, I am 100% behind him. I can't say I never criticize players or coaches on the Broncos but I do it very very very sparingly.

Most recently, Papa has passed down the season tickets into my name and I can promise you they will stay in my name until I am no longer here.

Go Irish and Broncos!!!!