NEIL CORNRICH & NC SPORTS: MANAGING THE CAREERS OF PROFESSIONALS IN THE SPORTS INDUSTRY

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Monday, November 27, 2023

Fans of the modern era love Phil Dawson – Hey, Terry!

 













Published: Nov. 24, 2023, 5:20 a.m.

 

By Terry Pluto, cleveland.com

 

Hey, Terry: The Browns did a masterful job bringing out Chubb and Jim Donovan for the Pittsburgh game. The crowd was the loudest I’ve heard in many years. Can you think of any other ex-players or Cleveland icons who could fire up the home crowd at a possible playoff game? – Tim O’Hara.

 

Hey, Tim: Bernie Kosar? Brian Sipe? Both? Fans of the modern era love Joshua Cribbs and Phil Dawson. The Donovan/Chubb combination is unique. Jimmy is coming back from leukemia. Chubb has had two knee operations in the last three months. That’s a special moment.

 

 


Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Aaron Kampman enjoyed 'tremendous ride' in Green Bay

 






Pass rusher went from unheralded arrival to Packers Hall of Famer

Nov 13, 2023 at 05:10 PM

 

Mike Spofford

packers.com editor











GREEN BAY – If Aaron Kampman arrived in Green Bay in 2002 somewhat overlooked as a fifth-round draft pick, he learned pretty quickly it wouldn't be easy to change that perception.

 

"Funny story, early in my career when we set out the third-down pass rush depth chart, I remember that I thought I'd be the second, maybe third team," Kampman recalled. "I actually wasn't even on the depth chart to start things out. So that gave me a little indication about where I was starting."

 

He's finishing, though, in the Packers Hall of Fame, as Kampman and fellow pass rusher Clay Matthews will be the next two inductees in August 2024.


A small-town kid from Aplington-Parkersburg High School in Iowa who played college football for his home-state Hawkeyes, Kampman went on to earn two second-team All-Pro selections and two Pro Bowl honors during eight years with the Packers.

 

He's always shared credit with the teammates and coaches around him, but Kampman's own drive and work ethic played probably the biggest role in his success. His small-town, humble upbringing was the genesis of that, which is what he plans to talk about during his induction ceremony next summer.

 

"The work ethic there was instilled in me at a young age," he said, speaking with the media Monday. "That was something that exemplified itself all the way through my career, and I wanted to be the best.

 

"Being a 10-year-old, I had a dream I wanted to play in the NFL, and that was something I was very fortunate to be able to do. It was a tremendous ride."

 

It didn't start out like gangbusters, as Kampman had to persevere, steadily but surely working his way into a full-time starting role. Three years into his career, he had a total of seven sacks.

 

Then Jim Bates arrived as the Packers' new defensive coordinator in 2005, and the change benefited Kampman as an every-down defensive end.

 

"We started to play a little different defense at that time, which allowed me to get a little wider and start to rush a little bit differently," he said. "That's when I think I had more opportunities to get on the field, and to rush and show some of that ability."

 

Kampman nearly doubled his career sack total that year with 6½, and then when Bob Sanders arrived as defensive coordinator along with head coach Mike McCarthy in 2006, his career really took off.

 

He posted 15½ sacks in '06 and 12 more in '07, earning his All-Pro and Pro Bowl accolades those seasons. The 15½ sacks remain the third-highest single-season total in team history (since sacks became an official NFL statistic in 1982), and his 113 tackles that year still stand as a franchise record for a defensive lineman.


He added 9½ more sacks in 2008, capping a five-year run in which he started 89 of a possible 90 regular-season games, missing only the '07 finale when starters were resting for the playoffs.

 

A knee injury ended his season early in 2009 and, as it turned out, his time in Green Bay, which concluded with 54 total sacks, good for fifth on the franchise's all-time list. He finished his career with two injury-riddled seasons in Jacksonville.

 

He couldn't have asked for a better fit than coming to the NFL's smallest market, though, and for that he's forever thankful. He and his wife, Linde, became very involved in a number of community and charitable endeavors as three of their four children were born in Green Bay.

 

"It was a great time in our lives," said Kampman, who now runs a leadership development company called Align that he started seven years ago. He's also coached football at Solon High School in Iowa for roughly the past decade.

 

"When I was coming out of Iowa, I had three draft visits to the New York Jets, to San Diego and to Green Bay, and my wife and I, we've both reminisced about what life may have looked like if we would've ended up on one of the coasts. We're very blessed and fortunate that Green Bay was the spot for us."

 


Monday, November 13, 2023

Aaron Kampman named to Packers Hall of Fame

 










LB Clay Matthews (2009-2018) and DE Aaron Kampman (2002-2009) will be inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in August 2024 (WBAY)

 

By WBAY news staff

 

Published: Nov. 13, 2023 at 10:01 AM EST | Updated: 3 hours ago

 

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - Former linebacker Clay Matthews and former defensive end Aaron Kampman are being inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame made the announcement Monday morning. They’ll be formally enshrined at the 53rd Hall of Fame Induction Banquet on Thursday, August 29.

Matthews was a first-round pick for the Packers in the 2009 NFL Draft. He played for the Packers for 10 seasons, 2009-2018, and started 137 of the 143 games he played in. He left the NFL after playing for the Los Angeles Rams for one season in 2019.

According to the team, Packers Hall of Fame, he holds the team records for most sacks in a rookie season, with 10, and most career sacks since 1982, with 83.5. His six Pro Bowl selections as a Packer have him tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer Reggie White for second-most in the franchise for a defensive player. He also holds the team record for most sacks in post-season games since 1982, with 11 sacks, and ranks him #6 in NFL playoff history, too.

Kampman also started his career with the Packers and played for eight seasons in Green Bay. He was a 5th-round pick in the 2002 NFL Draft and made 104 starts in 112 games.

In 2006, his breakout year, he made 15.5 sacks, ranking him #2 in the NFL that season and #3 in Packers history. He also made 113 tackles that year, a record for a Packers defensive lineman. His 37 sacks from 2006 to 2008 ranked him #3 in the NFL at that time, and he was a Pro Bowl selection in 2006 and 2007.

Kampman played two more seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars before finishing his NFL career.

The Hall of Fame Induction Banquet will be held in the Lambeau Field Atrium starting with a cash bar at 4 p.m. and the dinner and program at 5:30. Details for getting tickets will be released soon, the Hall of Fame said.

Copyright 2023 WBAY. All rights reserved.

 


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