trophies & awards

A highlight of the NFL Experience event is the Vince Lombardi Super Bowl Trophy. News 13 tracked the trophy’s journey to the place where a new NFL champion will be crowned Sunday, Feb. 1.

The unveiling of this year’s trophy was “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” with a twist.

“This is a great event for us at Tiffany. We kick off the Super Bowl and all the festivities that take place leading up to the game,” said Tom O’Rourke, spokesman for Tiffany & Co.

Guests at the event joined former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Mike Alstott, Lee Roy Selmon and Vinny Testaverde to welcome the arrival of the Lombardi Trophy.

“I think the Super Bowl week is always an exciting week for anybody here participating, (and) for the fans that come for the experience all the different things they have,” Testaverde said.

Named for legendary coach Vince Lombardi, The Lombardi Trophy was created by Tiffany, and is made of solid sterling silver.

The trophy is worth $25,000, but the memory of seeing it up close is worth far more to the Ananv family, who received an invitation fo the breakfast.

“It’s great for regular people like us to get to see it,” said Armat Ananv, who attended the breakfast with his young son.

The Ananvs spent their morning surrounded by sparkle, but among all the jewels, it was the Lombardi Trophy they said shone brightest. It was a special moment between father and son.

“He’s been looking forward to this week, coming down here and taking a look at it,” Armat Ananv said.

After a stop at Tiffany in Tampa, the trophy traveled to its temporary home at the NFL Experience.

From there, the trophy will make its final journey into Super Bowl history, a moment of victory former NFL star Mike Haynes said he knows well from his own championship with the 1983 Los Angeles Raiders in Tampa-hosted Super Bowl XVIII.

“This is what you’re playing for,” Haynes said. “There’s a lot of guys that play their entire career and never get a chance to hold that trophy.”

The trophy will remain on display at the NFL Experience. You can see it in its shiny splendor until Super Bowl Sunday.
Originally posted at CFnews13.com.

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.

Bradford beat out fellow quarterbacks Colt McCoy of Texas and 2008 Heisman winner Tim Tebow of Florida for the bronze statue. He garnered 1,726 points for the win, with McCoy placing second at 1,604 points and Tebow third with 1,575 points.

“Wow, I really don’t think I can put it into words. It’s kind of a surreal experience,” Bradford said moments after winning.

But as usual, he was quick to give credit to family and coaches.

“I would like to thank my parents. From a young age they pushed me for greatness. They instilled a hard work ethic in me,” Bradford said. “I’ve got to thank my coaches. Coach (Bob) Stoops probably puts in more hours than any coach in the country. I’ve got to give a special thanks to coach (Josh) Heupel. He was one of my heroes growing up. I dreamed about playing for Oklahoma and watching him play. Now to call him my coach and learn from him everyday and everything he does for me, I can’t thank him enough.”

He also thanked his teammates, who helped him post the gaudy statistics to win the award.

“I was surrounded by such a strong supporting cast. I feel like I’m up here representing them,” Bradford said. “This is an individual award, but I feel like I’m receiving it on behalf of them.”

With his teammates’ help, Bradford has put together a record-breaking season. He has attempted 442 passes, completing 302 for a 68.3 completion percentage. He has thrown for 4,464 yards and 48 touchdowns and is the triggerman for an offense that has scored a NCAA-record 702 points. The team has also scored 60 or more points in five straight games.

Bradford is the second sophomore in NCAA history to win the award – following Tebow – and the second Sooner in five years to win the Heisman. Former Sooners quarterback Jason White won it in 2003.
He also is the first Native American to win the greatest individual trophy in college football. And though he didn’t grow up identifying with his Cherokee heritage, he wants to use his status to inspire other Cherokees and Native Americans.

“I feel like that’s another blessing God’s given me. He’s given me a great platform, especially within the Cherokee Nation. For me to be an example for those kids, I really look at it as a great opportunity for me,” he said.

Principal Chief Chad Smith said he agrees that Bradford along with Sequoyah High School graduates Nathan Stanley (a freshman quarterback at the University of Mississippi) and Angel Goodrich (a freshman point guard at Kansas University) serve as role models for younger Cherokees.

“People like Sam and some of our other young kids, they encourage and inspire kids to think, ‘If they can do it, we can do it,’” Smith said. “That’s the valuable purpose of a role model.”

Bradford is believed to be the first Native American to quarterback a major college program since Sonny Sixkiller led the Washington Huskies in the early 1970s.

Sixkiller, who was born in Tahlequah, is now a 57-year-old senior associate general manager at ISP, the University of Washington’s sports licensing properties division. He said he regrets not meeting Bradford when OU beat Washington 55-14 on Sept. 13 in Seattle and that he might have given Bradford the advice to embrace the Cherokee culture.

“I think they can look with pride on one with heritage and one that kids can relate to,” Sixkiller said. “It’s just huge. Every little bit that’s positive helps, and that’s what he’s doing.”

But despite the hero status and the Heisman glitz, Bradford said his focus is still on the goals the team set before the season – winning the Big 12 and Bowl Championship Series titles.

The Sooners won the Big 12 championship Dec. 6 in Kansas City, Kan., with a 62-21 victory over the Missouri Tigers. Bradford played the game with torn ligaments in his non-throwing left hand, an injury he suffered a week earlier against Oklahoma State.

The injury isn’t expected to keep him from missing the BCS national title game Jan. 8 when the Sooners play Tebow’s Florida Gators.

“We’re ready to meet that challenge. We’re ready to get back to work and get ready for the eighth. When we started the season, winning the national championship was the first goal we put down as a team. I’ve thought about the game everyday since we won the Big 12,” Bradford said.

Because of his outstanding play the past two seasons, the speculation about whether he will leave early for the NFL has started. NFL scouts and experts have said if Bradford declares for the NFL draft, he would certainly be a top five pick. Some NFL draft analysts have Bradford rated as the top player available in the draft.

However, Bradford said he isn’t looking that far ahead.

“We have a huge game in front of us, so I’m not going to think about that decision. After the game, I’ll gather all the information that’s necessary to make the correct decision,” he said.

Bradford has also collected other hardware besides the Heisman. The Touchdown Club of Columbus, Ohio awarded Bradford with the Sammy Baugh Trophy, as the nation’s top passer, and the Chic Harley Award as its player of the year. It’s the first time in the club’s 54-year history one player has won both awards.

On Dec. 11, he won the Davey O’Brien Trophy for being the nation’s top quarterback. He also was named to the Associated Press’ All-Big 12 first team at quarterback.

Originally posted By Wesley Mahan at Cherokeephoenix.org.

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.

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Originally posted on Locksmithsports.com.