Ravens OG Marshal Yanda Headed to Reese's Senior Bowl Hall of Fame

 

The Reese's Senior Bowl is honoring accomplished NFL players who have come from the annual scouting event and Baltimore Ravens great Marshal Yanda is among this year's Hall of Fame inductees.

DAVID HARRISON
20 HOURS AGO (April 13, 2023)

 

The Baltimore Ravens inducted retired guard Marshal Yanda into their Ring of Honor in December of last season, and now he's receiving another enshrinement, in the Reese's Senior Bowl Hall of Fame.

"We are thrilled to be adding such an accomplished group of players to the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame," Executive Director Jim Nagy stated in a press release. "These men were among the best of the best coming out of college and they all went on to have incredible pro careers...we are grateful their NFL journeys began here in Mobile."

Yanda was a third-round pick out of Iowa by the Ravens in 2007. He started 12 games as a rookie and spent each of his 13 NFL seasons in Baltimore. During that stretch, Yanda went to the Pro Bowl eight times and was a first-team all-pro twice. 

And of course, he's also a member of the Ravens' 2012 Super Bowl Championship squad. 

Joining him in this year's group of Hall of Fame inductees are former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson, former Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Clay Matthews, and former Eagles running back Brian Westbrook.

The Senior Bowl also announced its 2022 Rookies of the Year with Seattle Seahawks cornerback Tariq Woolen taking defensive honors while Green Bay Packers receiver Christian Watson and Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce will be recognized as Co-Offensive Rookies of the Year.

The induction ceremony will be at The Grand Hotel Golf Club & Spa in Point Clear, Alabama on Sunday, June 2, 2023.

According to the Senior Bowl, "This past April, the game produced a record-tying 106 total picks for the second straight year, representing 40 percent of the entire NFL draft, including 45 of the top 100 players selected."

Baltimore 

Titans Head Coach Mike Vrabel Named Hall of Fame Finalist in New England

 

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel was recently named a finalist for a spot in the New England Patriots' Hall of Fame after decorated career.

TYLER ROWLAND

April 13, 2023

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans are gearing up for the NFL draft and that includes head coach Mike Vrabel, but in the meantime, Vrabel was nominated and has been named a finalist for the New England Patriots' Hall of Fame. Out of 23 nominees, Vrabel been selected to be one of the finalists. 

Vrabel was chosen as a finalist along with former Patriots' head coach Bill Parcells and former Patriots' offensive lineman Logan Mankins. While quite the honor, it should be no surprise to see Vrabel be chosen after he had such a decorated career during his time in New England.

Vrabel played in 125 games over the course of 8 seasons with the Patriots. Amazingly enough, Vrabel only missed three games during that time. Vrabel was also incredibly productive racking up 606 tackles and 48 sacks. Vrabel created a good amount of turnovers as well forcing 13 fumbles and intercepting 11 passes.

To go along with his defensive production, Vrabel famously added value on the offensive side of the ball as well. Vrabel caught eight passes for eight touchdowns in his eight seasons in New England and he added two catches for two scores in the playoffs.

Speaking of playoffs, Vrabel spent a lot of time playing in them with the Patriots. Vrabel won three Super Bowls in New England playing next to Tom Brady. It wasn't just team accolades though, Vrabel also made the pro bowl and first-team all-pro in 2007. 

While Vrabel is certainly excited about being a finalist and seeing his fantastic playing career appreciated, he is certainly busy with his current responsibilities as Titans' head coach. While Vrabel prepares for the draft and the season to come, he will have to wait and see if he is selected out of the finalists.

The best world-class wrestlers are on another level: Stephen Neal

 

1. Post author:Tom Shanahan
2. Post published:April 11, 2023

 

PHOTO: LSU’s Angel Reese (10) and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark lifted their sport in the 2023 NCAA women’s Final Four, but the discussion later shifted to taunting.

 

Visit my website homepage, TomShanahan.Report

 

By TOM SHANAHAN

 

We should be still awash in the glow surrounding the 2023 LSU-Iowa NCAA women’s basketball title. The parallels with the 1979 Michigan State-Indiana State men’s championship deserve more discussion.

When Michigan State’s Magic Johnson faced Indiana’s State’s Larry Bird, the showdown captivated the nation. The 24.1 TV audience rating remains a record (as does Michigan State’s record TV audience of 33 million against Notre Dame in the 1966 Game of the Century).

In the aftermath, network broadcast rights soared. Final Fours were moved from 15,000-seat basketball arenas to 60,000-plus football stadiums. The men’s game has never looked back. Seth Davis, the acclaimed sportswriter and CBS studio host, wrote a 2010 book about the game’s impact: “When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball.”

So, what might LSU and Angel Reese defeating Iowa and Caitlin Clark mean to the women’s basketball’s future? The game drew a record ESPN TV audience of 9.9 million, including a peak audience of 12.6 million.

Sadly, though, the blame game overtook discussions of exciting progress in women’s game credibility. Reese was unfairly singled out for taunting Clark. The social media world jumped on Reese, even though two days earlier in the semifinals Clark used the same fake wrestling taunt against her vanquished opponent, South Carolina.

But don’t blame Reese or Clark.

Blame John Cena, who acts out fake wrestling scripts, for popularizing a taunt of waving his hand across his face to say, “You can’t see me.”

When did unsportsmanlike behavior become cool?

Fake wrestling – please don’t call it pro wrestling – has sunk its ugly tentacles into legitimate sports. Fake wrestling is the Kardashians of the sports world – popular and profitable but shallow.

The other Magic-Bird parallel, of course, was the elephant in the room.

Reese is Black and from a city background, Baltimore. Clark is White and from a farm state, Iowa. An uncomfortable Black vs. White conversation emerged because, well, this is America. Reese got trapped into a villain’s role.

But it didn’t have to be that way. Magic is Black and from the city courts in Lansing, Michigan, while Bird is white and from the countryside, French Lick, Indiana.

Yes, the comparisons are different since Magic’s effervescent personality and Bird’s dour avoidance of the media were both well-known from a season of national coverage. Magic and Bird were wary of each other in college but only because they didn’t know each other. They became great friends and rivals in the NBA.

So far, we’ve only just met Reese and Clark. We don’t know enough about their personalities. They’ll probably like each other if they meet – they’ll learn just as Magic and Bird they share plenty in common despite different backgrounds.

When Reese and Clark next meet they should mimic Cheryl Miller, Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Candance Parker, Brittany Griner or others. Not John Cena. He wouldn’t survive 10 seconds against a legitimate world-class wrestler.

Or take a page from LeBron James.

Remember the 2015 NBA finals when James, then playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, warmed up before Game 3 of the NBA finals against Golden State? James saw Cleveland Browns legend Jim Brown sitting courtside and bowed to him.

There is so much cruel irony to fake wrestling’s popularity overtaking the women’s Final Four storyline. Legitimate wrestlers toil in anonymity while scraping up funds to pursue their dreams of Olympic glory. Fake wrestlers make their money acting out scripts written on the backs of a sport dating to the original Greek Olympics.

Stephen Neal, a three-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, was a two-time NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion, winner of the Dan Hodge Trophy (college wrestling’s Heisman) and the 1999 World Wrestling Championship freestyle heavyweight gold medal in Ankara, Turkey, before he took up football.

When Neal joined the Patriots, his teammates asked him if he wanted to go into pro wrestling. Sportswriters learn early legitimate wrestlers don’t think that question is funny. Neal responded he wasn’t into acting. Neal’s teammates, legitimate athletes, didn’t understand the absurdity of the question. They didn’t ask Tom Brady after filming his first commercial if he planned to go into acting.

And for fake wrestling enthusiasts reading this, don’t toss Brock Lesnar’s name into the ring for credibility. For one, Neal beat Lesnar in the 1999 NCAA final to finish an unbeaten season. Neal moved onto a 10-year NFL career. Lesnar won his NCAA title in 2000, but when he tried to cross over into the NFL, he was cut by the Minnesota Vikings. Then, he cashed in on fake wrestling. The best world-class wrestlers are on another level. Nobody compares Tom Brady with his backups.

The taunting imbroglio also ensnared the First Lady, Jill Biden. She attended the final and was so enthralled with the performances she naively suggested both LSU and Iowa visit the White House. Her focus was on viewing the 2023 Final Four as a transformative moment.

She didn’t understand runners-up don’t share the stage with champions. And no doubt Larry Bird would have scoffed at an invitation to join Magic’s White House stage as a friend or a foe. The First Lady’s office issued a clarification. It was a mistake inflamed by the blame-game backlash.

Remember that Reese and Clark are college kids. They’ll learn with time life turns around to bite you from behind. But maybe, hopefully, they’ll avoid stooping to mimic fake wrestling taunts.