St. Michael cheers on Steelers' Spaeth

By Frank Rajkowski

February 6, 2011
Ken Spaeth has done all this before.

But watching your son play in the Super Bowl never really gets old.

Spaeth is the father of former St. Michael-Albertville and University of Minnesota standout Matt Spaeth, now in his fourth season as a tight end with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who take on the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV at 5:30 p.m. (CST) today in Arlington, Texas.

And as he was two years ago, when the Steelers beat Arizona 27-23 in Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Fla., Spaeth will be on hand today to cheer his son on.

“It’s a pretty cool feeling,” Spaeth said. “The Super Bowl is the game of the year and to have your son participating in it is pretty amazing.”

Spaeth, who himself played football at Nebraska and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills, left for Texas this past Thursday. But he didn’t expect to spend too much time with Matt before the game.

“You get to see them a little bit,” Spaeth said. “They’re all pretty busy getting ready for the game. But you’re able to go out for supper with him and do stuff like that.”

Spaeth graduated from St. Michael-Albertville in 2002 after a career that saw him earn All-Wright County Conference two times.

Knights coach Earl Bauman said he was the first football player in his now-31 seasons at the school to go on to play at the Division I level.

“A lot of high school kids, when they get hurt, will leave the game,” Bauman said. “But I remember he dislocated one of his fingers in a playoff game and he ran over to the medical people. They pushed his finger back in and taped it up. He then sprinted right back onto the field and lined up again.”

Bauman said Spaeth maintains strong ties to the St. Michael and Albertville areas.

“He’s made a donation to the weight room at our school, he runs a camp for little kids, he puts on a golf tournament that raises money,” Bauman said.

“He is just an unbelievably super human being. Just a great young man.”

Marshal Yanda named to ProFootballFocus All-AFC North Team

January 27, 2011

Author: Khaled Elsayed

Quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers)
It took a Super Bowl run to really remind how good Big Ben had been in the regular season. It was all the more impressive given the substandard protection he faced, and how he didn’t let that pressure affect him (just two regular season INT’s under pressure).

Running Back
Peyton Hillis (Cleveland Browns)
He runs, he catches and he blocks. Oh, and he hurdles like he’s at the Olympic Trials. Hillis is what you want in a running back.

Tight End
Todd Heap (Baltimore Ravens)
He wasn’t as good this year as he was in his 2009 renaissance, with his blocking falling off a cliff, but he still caused plenty of problems catching balls.

Tight End
Ben Watson (Cleveland Browns)
Watson added some versatility to a Browns team that lacked a TE capable of blocking and catching (even if Watson’s blocking wasn’t great all of the time).

Wide Receiver
Mike Wallace (Pittsburgh Steelers)
If you’re a cornerback, is there anything scarier than a guy like Mike Wallace running past you? There shouldn’t be, when he is picking up 21 yards per catch and 1,257 yards. Santonio who?

Wide Receiver
Derrick Mason (Baltimore Ravens)
Mr. Dependable does it again. Even with the veteran receivers brought in, Mason remained the guy the Ravens could rely on to make a play when needed.

Left Tackle
Andrew Whitworth (Cincinnati Bengals)
Led our offensive tackle rankings and only gave up three sacks all year, despite the Bengals throwing an awful lot. One of the truly underappreciated players in the league right now.

Left Guard
Ben Grubbs (Baltimore Ravens)
Grubbs had a legitimate case for a Pro Bowl spot, with some generally solid play. Did he ever dominate? No, but then was he never dominated either. Not many linemen we can say that about this year.

Center
Matt Birk (Baltimore Ravens)
As good a season as there was a by a center and nobody seemed to notice it. Birk has been cheaper than Jason Brown and a much better player these past two years.

Right Guard
Bobbie Williams (Cincinnati Bengals)
We’d have like to have seen Williams do more with his run blocking, where for the first time he looked like age was catching him up. Still gave up less than a pressure per game.

Right Tackle
Marshal Yanda (Baltimore Ravens)
Forced to play RT by circumstance, Yanda responded superbly. An excellent run blocker, the biggest surprise was how comfortable he looked in pass protection.

Colts' Clark on Life-Saving Mission at Super Bowl

February 2, 2011

By Tim Harms

INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011) – Every player headed to the Super Bowl is on a mission. The same can be said for Indianapolis Colts tight end Dallas Clark. Although he won’t be playing in this year’s game, the two-time Super Bowl starter will be in Dallas Feb. 4 on a mission to educate women that heart disease is their No. 1 killer.

Clark will serve as national spokesman for the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women movement. The mission became personal to Clark when his mother Jan passed away from a heart attack just three days prior to his high school graduation.

“Back in 1998, my mom passed away from a heart attack,” said Clark, who helped the Colts win Super Bowl XLI in 2007. “Ever since, I’ve made it my mission to increase public awareness about heart disease. I’m happy to help the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women get the word out to ensure people understand the risks, know the signs of heart attack and realize how dangerous heart disease is to women.”

Feb. 4 is National Wear Red Day, a national observance on the first Friday of every February – American Heart Month. During the month, the association is calling attention to the fact that one of every three women die from heart disease, claiming more women’s lives annually than the next five causes combined, including all forms of cancer. Fortunately, 80 percent of cardiac events in women may be preventable.

“When we lost my mom, we lost the heart of my family,” Clark said. “That’s why it’s so important for people to understand the severity of this disease. Talk to your doctor about the risks and get the appropriate testing. This is something that can be prevented – women need to know that and they need to share this information with five women in their lives.”