The last the public saw of the Lombardi trophy, awarded to the Saints for their 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV, Payton was still clutching the coveted prize during the Orpheus parade.

The big question now is: Where does the Lombardi trophy go next? Will it reside in a trophy case at the team’s Metairie facility? Will it tour the state? Will it be on display somewhere for locals to view?

At the moment, even the Saints aren’t sure.

Following a whirlwind of touring and a little vacation time for several members of the Saints’ front office, the Saints brass hasn’t had much time to contemplate the future of the trophy.

There won’t be a shortage of ideas, however.

Already Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis, in an interview with Sports Illustrated writer Peter King, has suggested that the Saints might take the trophy on a state tour.

Payton also reportedly has said he’d consider doing something like the NHL does with the Stanley Cup, and allow his players to take it for a day.

But that decision will be left up to Saints owner Tom Benson, Loomis said.

Saints spokesman Greg Bensel said a decision could come soon.

If the Saints decide to take the trophy to all 64 parishes in Louisiana, they’ll be following a pattern set by the Colts, who took the Lombardi trophy to nearly 100 towns in Indiana after their victory in Super Bowl XLI.

Colts senior executive vice president Pete Ward said their organization came up with the idea when the team reached the AFC championship game in 1995, before finally getting to implement the plan when the team won the Super Bowl in 2007.

“Like New Orleans, we are a small market and we need to be a regional team, ” Ward said. “And if we are going to be a regional team then we have to have fans in all corners of the state. And our state has responded.

“It was a basketball state when we moved here; now it’s a football state in every corner. And we felt that it was without question that we needed to take that trophy to all corners of our state and let the fans appreciate it, because it was as much their trophy as it was ours.”

The Colts, however, are one of the few NFL franchises to take such measures.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, who won Super Bowl titles in 2006 and 2009, haven’t displayed their trophies much publicly. All of their NFL-best six Lombardi trophies are displayed at the team’s headquarters, according to a Steelers official.

After the New York Giants won Super Bowl XLII in 2008, the Giants didn’t follow the lead of the Colts and travel with the trophy around the state, a Giants official said. But they did bring the trophy along to many of the organization’s charity events. And the trophy, along with the franchise’s other two championship trophies, is now stored in a glass case in the lobby of the Giants’ front office.

Meanwhile, the Colts’ Lombardi Trophy still hasn’t found a home. Colts officials said rarely does a week go by that the trophy is in the same place. Since winning the award, the Colts have loaned out the Lombardi to many community organizers wishing to allow fans to get an up-close look at the prestigious award.

“We don’t know of any other organization that has done it, ” Ward said. “It’s something that when we did it, it was almost like the second coming of the Beatles in every little town that it went to. It went to nearly 100 towns in Indiana and it was incredibly well-received.

“The feedback that we got back was so exciting I can just imagine in Louisiana you’d need the National Guard for security. I think that would be an awesome thing to do in Louisiana.”

Heisman Trophy Winner Bradford Returns to Oklahoma Next Season
Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) — University of Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford wants to emulate Jason White, who led the Sooners to a second national championship game appearance the year after he won the 2003 Heisman Trophy.

Bradford, the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner, said yesterday he’ll return for his junior year. White’s feat was repeated the following year by Matt Leinart, who led the University of Southern California to the Bowl Championship Series title game in 2005, the year after he won the trophy.

Tight end Jermaine Gresham, defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and offensive tackle Trent Williams will join Bradford in their quest for a second BCS championship title after the 2009 season.

“They understand the value of gaining another year of experience and improving their position in the draft along with the value of either finishing their degree or being within a few hours of completing it,” said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops.

Bradford, 21, an Oklahoma City native, led college football’s top division with 50 passing touchdowns last season, directing an offense that scored more than 60 points in five straight games.

“If I’d gone one way or the other it would’ve been the right decision,” Bradford said yesterday at a televised press conference. “But I do feel like I’ve made the right decision by coming back.”

He was last year’s most efficient passer in Football Bowl Subdivision play and broke the National Collegiate Athletic Association record for touchdown passes during his freshman and sophomore seasons with 86.

Bradford’s 4,720 yards passing last year ranked him third in the country behind Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell and Houston’s Case Keenum.

Bradford and University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, the 2007 Heisman winner, are the only sophomores to win the award, which goes to the top college football player.

Tebow, who finished third in the Heisman voting in 2008, announced Jan. 11 during a ceremony celebrating the Gators’ 24- 14 win over the Sooners in the Bowl Championship Series title game that he’ll return for his senior season.

Bradford completed 26 of 41 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns in the title-game defeat.

Originally posted by Mason Levinson.

The Morris Trophy is a unique award given to the outstanding offensive and defensive linemen in the Pacific-10 Conference. What makes the award unique is the selection procedure, which has the starting offensive linemen in the Conference voting for the defensive winner and vice versa. It is truly a players’ award.

Mack, a 6-foot-5, 316-pound senior from Santa Barbara, Calif., was named a first-team All-Pac-10 performer for the third straight year in voting by the Pac-10 head coaches and also has been selected the second-team All-America center by the Walter Camp Foundation. In addition, Mack became the first Pac-10 player to be awarded the prestigious Draddy Trophy by the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame to the nation’s top scholar-athlete. He has started all 37 games at center for the Golden Bears the last three seasons. In addition to his prowess on the field, Mack was named a first-team Pac-10 All-Academic selection by virtue of a 3.60 grade-point average in Graduate Studies.
Reed, a 6-foot-2, 255-pound senior from Trabuco Canyon, Calif., has been selected first-team All-Pac-10 by the Conference head coaches for the last two years and is a first-team All-America selection by the Walter Camp Foundation this year. Reed had a spectacular senior season as he led the Pac-10 in quarterback sacks with 13 and in tackles for loss with 19.5. With Reed as the leader, Oregon led the Pac-10 in sacks with 38. Like Mack, Reed is a first-team Pac-10 All-Academic selection boasting a 3.44 grade-point average in History. He also served as a Duck captain this season.

Mack and Reed will be presented their awards at a luncheon at the prestigious Washington Athletic Club in Seattle in January, 2009. The Morris Trophy is sponsored by the Morris Family of Woodway, Wash., and the Washington Athletic Club.

Previous Morris Trophy Winners

Year Offense Defense
1980 Roy Foster, USC Vince Goldsmith, Oregon
1981 Roy Foster, USC Fletcher Jenkins, Washington
1982 Bruce Matthews, USC George Achica, USC
1983 Gary Zimmerman, Oregon Keith Millard, Washington State
1984 Dan Lynch, Washington State Ron Holmes, Washington
1985 Jeff Bregel, USC Erik Howard, Washington State
1986 Danny Villa, Arizona State Reggie Rogers, Washington
1987 Randall McDaniel, Arizona State Dana Wells, Arizona
1988 Joe Tofflemire, Arizona Dana Wells, Arizona
1989 Bern Brostek, Washington Esera Tuaolo, Oregon State
1990 Pat Harlow, USC Steve Emtman, Washington
1991 Lincoln Kennedy, Washington Steve Emtman, Washington
1992 Lincoln Kennedy, Washington Rob Waldrop, Arizona
1993 Todd Steussie, California D’Marco Farr, Washington
1994 Tony Boselli, USC Chad Eaton, Washington State
1995 Jonathan Ogden, UCLA Tedy Bruschi, Arizona
1996 Bob Sapp, Washington Darrell Russell, USC
1997 Olin Kreutz, Washington Jeremy Staat, Arizona State
1998 Yusuf Scott, Arizona Inoke Breckterfield, Oregon State
1999 Travis Claridge, USC Willie Howard, Stanford
2000 Chad Ward, Washington Andre Carter, California
2001 Levi Jones, Arizona State Kenyon Coleman, UCLA
2002 Kwame Harris, Stanford Terrell Suggs, Arizona State
2003 Jacob Rogers, USC Dave Ball, UCLA
2004 Adam Snyder, Oregon Bill Swancutt, Oregon State
2005 Ryan O’Callaghan, California Haloti Ngata, Oregon
2006 Ryan Kalil, USC Sedrick Ellis, USC
2007 Alex Mack, California Sedrick Ellis, USC
2008 Alex Mack, California Nick Reed, Oregon
Originally posted in Pac-10.org.

In the early 70′s, Archie Griffin did something nobody else has ever done; win back-to-back Heisman Trophies. This Saturday, Archie will be sharing that honor with Tim Tebow if the Florida quarterback wins his 2nd straight Heisman.

Archie joined Susie Wargin for the latest 6:20 Sidebar to talk about his thoughts on the Heisman and the memories this time of year brings around for him. To see the interview, visit the video link to the right of this article.

These days, Archie is the President and CEO of The Ohio State University Alumni Association and a strong supporter of excellence at the high school level. Being the ambassador for the Wendy’s High School Heisman (WHSH) program, Archie will award those trophies this week in New York to two of 12 national finalists, selected from a pool of nearly 34,000 applicants.

Archie Griffin, member of the College National Football Foundation Hall of Fame, Rose Bowl Hall of Fame, the Ohio State University Sports Hall of Fame, and the Columbus Public Schools Hall of Fame, has won virtually all the top honors any single athlete could win in college football.

Griffin is the only two-time winner of the prestigious Heisman Trophy, symbolic of “The Outstanding College Football Player of the Country.” He was a three time All-American in 1973, 74 and 75. He was named “Most Valuable Football Player in the Big Ten” for two straight years, thereby becoming only the second athlete in history to accomplish this feat. Both United Press International and the Sporting News named Archie “College Football Player of the Year.”

Griffin broke nearly all the Ohio State rushing records. He set national marks and Big Ten marks, both for a single season and for a career. He also holds another rare distinction, he was named Captain of the 1974 Ohio State football team and his teammates renamed him Captain of the 1975 Buckeyes.

In 1975, Griffin was a recipient of the NCAA’s Top Five Award. This award is the top honor an undergraduate can receive and is based on a combination of athletic skill, academic accomplishment, leadership and character. Graduating a quarter early, Griffin earned his college degree in Industrial Relations.

In 1976, he was a first round draft choice of the Cincinnati Bengals; served as
co-captain and played with that franchise for eight years. As a professional, Archie continued his illustrious football career by ranking among the top NFL rushers with a 4.1 yards per carry average. He also commanded respect throughout the league as a very adept pass receiver.

Archie Griffin returned to his alma mater in March of 1984. He later accepted the position of Special Assistant to the Director of Athletics in June of 1985. In July of 1987, he was named Assistant Director of Athletics and in April of 1994, named Associate Director of Athletics. January 1, 2004, he accepted the position of President and CEO of The Ohio State University Alumni Association.

In October of 1999 his jersey, #45, was retired in front of a record crowd in Ohio Stadium. He was the very first Buckeye to receive this honor.

Originally posted by Susie Wargin.

“There goes that theory,” Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo joked Sunday after winning the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, given to the nation’s top defender.

Orakpo flew to Charlotte, N.C., on Sunday, a day after participating in graduation at UT.

This fall, the son of Nigerian immigrants finished up the final three hours he needed to earn a degree in youth and community studies.

Next on Orakpo’s itinerary is Wednesday’s Lombardi Trophy ceremony, which honors the nation’s top lineman.

After a quick trip back to Austin for Friday’s Longhorn football banquet, Orakpo will leave for Newport Beach, Calif., for a black-tie dinner Sunday to honor finalists for the Lott Trophy . That award goes to a defensive player for work on and off the field.
Orakpo already is the consensus defensive player of the year in the Big 12.

He said he was shocked when he heard his name called Sunday.

“When you’re up for these awards, you never think you’re going to win them,” he said.

Orakpo’s statistics swayed the voters, as he joined linebacker Derrick Johnson as the only Longhorns to win the Nagurski. Despite missing 2 1/2 games with a knee sprain, Orakpo registered 10 1/2 quarterback sacks, sixth-best in the nation. He also forced four fumbles, which ranked third in the country. His 18 tackles for losses were 11th best in the nation.

The other finalists were Texas Christian defensive end Jerry Hughes, Southern California linebacker Rey Maualuga, Wake Forest defensive back Alphonso Smith and Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes. Members of the Football Writers Association of America select the winner.

The award is sponsored by the Charlotte Touchdown Club.

During Sunday’s banquet, Orakpo gave tips to Spikes on how best to stop the Sooners and quarterback Sam Bradford. Orakpo’s signature game came in a 45-35 win over OU, when he had two sacks, four tackles for losses and a forced fumble.

Orakpo said he told Spikes: “If you put our film on there, you see how much pressure we got and that’s why we were successful in the game. You can’t let him sit back there all day.”
Originally posted by Suzanne Halliburton.

Sam Bradford helped his team dominate against last week in a 62-21 victory over Missouri in the Big 12 Championship game. Bradford has now lead the Sooners to 5 straight games of 60+ points and he continues to lead all of FBS with 48 passing touchdowns. Bradford is also third in total passing yards and first in all of college football in QB rating. He’s lead his team to the National Championship, something only Tim Tebow on this list can claim as well. Bradford has been consistently the best player in college football this year and should be considered as the favorite for the trophy, which, according to SportsBook.com, Bradford is the favorite, at -400 to win the Heisman Trophy this year.

Colt McCoy is a victim of circumstance this year. His team missed out on the Big 12 Championship and a bid to the BCS Championship game because of a 3-way tie in the Big 12 South, in which the tie-breaker went to the Oklahoma Sooners, even though McCoy and his Longhorns were the only team to beat Oklahoma this year. In addition to missing out on a national title, McCoy also lost a chance to improve on his Heisman resume. While Bradford and Tebow lead their teams to impressive victories on national television, McCoy was nowhere to be seen, his team idle this weekend. I would still contend that no single player in college football has meant more to his team than McCoy, but things simply didn’t line up right for him to win the Heisman in 2008. McCoy certain had a Heisman-worthy year, passing for 3,445 yards, 32 touchdowns, and completing an improbable and impressive 77.5% of his passes. It’s just too bad for Colt that Sam Bradford’s team ended up with all of the BCS luck this season. McCoy lost out to Bradford for both the Big 12 Player of the Year and First-Team Big 12 QB honors, and it appears he will also fall second to Bradford in the Heisman voting as well.

The hype around Tebow to win his second consecutive has been growing for some time now and while that would certainly make for a good story, Tebow hasn’t had a season on par with McCoy or Bradford. That isn’t to say that Tebow’s credentials aren’t impressive. He’s thrown for 2,515 yards and 28 touchdowns and added 563 yards and 12 more touchdowns on the ground. As I’ve mentioned before, Tebow has the “it” factor. His coaches always call his number when the Gators need a big play and he almost always delivers. He’s lead his team to the National Championship game and has been able to do it through some very difficult circumstances, not the least of which was last week’s win over the then-#1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. Tebow is one of the best college football players we’ve seen in a long time, but he doesn’t have the raw stats right now to contend with Bradford, or even McCoy for the Heisman Trophy.

Just a few short weeks ago Graham Harrell was on everyone’s list as the favorite for the Heisman Trophy. Since then, however, Harrell has fallen from graces as his team has fallen out of the National Championship race. Harrell has 4,747 yards, 41 touchdowns, just 7 interceptions, and has completed 71.5% of his passes, and he’s playing for an 11-1 football team. In just about any other year, those numbers would make Harrell a sure-thing for the Heisman Trophy. In just about any other year. This year, Harrell is considered a long shot at +3000 odds to win the 2008 Heisman.

Get ready for even more winning this NCAA football betting season as our experts get ready to dominate this year’s bowl season. You can beat the college football odds in every bowl game this year with the best college football picks on the planet!

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Originally posted on Locksmithsports.com.

Heisman Trophy to be in Green Valley on Thursday

The Heisman Trophy, which will be presented to this year’s best college football player, will be on display at Cole Nissan on Thursday from 8:30 a.m.- 7 p.m. The 25-pound Heisman Trophy will be in Green Valley as part of ESPN’s two-month Gridiron Blowout Trophy Tour.

Originated from the Bluefield Daily Telegraph

County’s sides continue bid for FA Trophy glory

WITH all but two of the county’s non-league sides already out of the FA Cup, the FA Trophy represents the last chance for Kent’s clubs to embark on the road to Wembley.

An appearance in the final is still a distant hope for the eight sides in first round qualifying action this afternoon, but three wins would put them in the draw alongside well-known Conference sides such as Oxford, Torquay and Wrexham.

The competition is already special for Whitstable Town, who won the FA’s ‘Team of the Round’ trophy a fortnight ago. The Oystermen shook off dreadful early season form to win away to two-time trophy winners Kingstonian in the preliminary round.

It was only the club’s second ever win in the competition and manager Marc Seager is relishing his side’s game against Northamptonshire’s Brackley Town at the Belmont.

He said: “You could say it’s the biggest game in the club’s history. We are playing against a side from a higher level so it’s a huge game and we are looking forward to it. Hopefully the town can get behind us and create a good atmosphere.”

Dover Athletic visit Staines Town in one of the round’s most eye-catching ties. Both sides are in excellent form following promotion last season and make up two of the Ryman Premier’s top four.

The Berkshire side have a cup trophy pedigree and beat Stockport County in last season’s FA Cup trophy en route to the second round.

The competition has taken on greater significance for the Whites, whose FA Cup trophy hopes were ended by AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday night.

Dover manager Andy Hessenthaler said: “The FA Trophy is a big competition and it’s a chance to play at Wembley. I was fortunate enough to be there this year when Ebbsfleet won it so I know it’s a fantastic tournament and one we will take seriously. I haven’t had back-to-back defeats since I have been here and I certainly don’t want it against Staines.”

Originated from Mumbai, INDIA

Laval quarterback Benoit Groulx Quebec nominee for Hec Crighton Trophy

LENNOXVILLE, Que. — Laval Rouge et Or quarterback Benoit Groulx won the Jeff Russel Trophy as the Quebec conference’s player of the year on Monday.

The Montreal native also becomes one of the four nominees for the Hec Crighton Trophy as the top player in Canadian university football, which will be awarded Nov. 20, two days ahead of the Vanier Cup trophy in Hamilton.

Groulx’s teammate Etienne Legare was named the conference’s most outstanding lineman, Joash Gesse from the Montreal Carabins earned top defensive player honours, Bishop’s Gaiters defensive halfback Harrison Maloney is rookie of the year and Benoit Boulanger of the Sherbrooke Vert & Or is the top student athlete.

All conference winners become nominees for the national honour.

Groulx, a fourth year sport administration student, established a new Canadian record by completing 75.2 per cent of his passes (185-of-245), breaking Garry Smith’s mark of 70.4 set in 1962.

He was second in the country with 185 completions and threw for 2,385 yards and 12 touchdowns passes against just two interceptions for 8-0 Laval.

Gesse, a third-year linebacker from Montreal, recorded 50 tackles, 37 of them solo, seven of them for a loss, and added four sacks.

Legare, a sport administration student from Laval, Que., is one of the top CFL draft prospects in the CIS. He made 23 tackles in seven games and had 6.5 quarterback sacks causing a total of 58 yards in losses.

Maloney, from Thurso, Que., led all rookies with 39.5 tackles, including 30 solo tackles. He also had one forced fumble and a pass knockdown this year.

Boulanger, a fullback from Sherbrooke, Que., posted a grade point average of 4.25 out of 4.3 while accepting a role as his school’s ambassador for a tobacco prevention program and acting as a tutor for his teammates.

Originated from The Canadian Press

Trophy, top seed lost by Fort Payne
…..
The Top Cat Trophy — sponsored by the Times-Journal and the Scottsboro Daily Sentinel — also changed hands in Fort Payne’s first loss to Scottsboro (5-4, 4-3) in four years in the 73rd meeting between the two teams. Scottsboro clinched the region’s final playoff spot with the win.

“My hat is off to them,” Fort Payne coach Paul Ellis said. “We just didn’t do enough to get it done. I’m not making any excuses. They just beat us. They did a great job.”

Trailing 17-14 through the third quarter, Fort Payne regained the lead on a 7-yard touchdown run up the middle by quarterback Kyle Crabtree. A 30-yard pass from Crabtree to Akeem Appleton two plays earlier set up the touchdown.

On its next possession, Scottsboro executed a 10-play, 51-yard drive that ended with Deuantae Johnson scoring from 9 yards out to give the Wildcats a 24-21 lead with 1:58 left.

Fort Payne’s last possession started on its own 20. A pass from Crabtree to Kyle Conkle gained 8 yards. But on fourth and 2, running back Blake Smith was stopped a yard short and Scottsboro took over with 1:22 left.

“I think they limited our big plays,” Ellis said. “They have a huge quarterback and a big running back and just kept irking out first downs. That’s the mark of a good team.”

Fort Payne started the game by taking its first drive 80 yards on 14 plays. The drive was capped off by Appleton going the final 1 yard for the touchdown.

Scottsboro took advantage of an interception that set up a 33-yard Jay Benson field goal early in the second.

Midway through the second, Fort Payne recovered a Scottsboro fumble on its 30-yard line that set up a 32-yard touchdown pass from Crabtree to Smith.

On its next possession, Scottsboro managed a nine-play, 73-yard drive that ended with a 17-yard touchdown run by J.J. Smith to cut the lead to 14-10.

On Fort Payne’s next drive, just before the half, Scottsboro’s Zachary Mardis blocked a punt and scooped it up on the 1-yard line as he headed into the end zone. The touchdown gave Scottsboro a 17-14 lead at the half.

Fort Payne will finish the regular season against Gadsden on Friday in Fort Payne.

“We’ve got a tough Gadsden City left to play,” Ellis said. We’ll have to get our kids well this week and come out with a good game plan.”

Crabtree finished the game completing 16 of 31 passes for 155 yards. Appleton had 131 total yards.

Originally written by Jared Felkins, The Times-Journal