Monday, June 26, 2006

San Francisco 49ers Family Day




The San Francisco 49ers hold an event called "Family Day" annually to kick off the start of the NFL training camp period and the football season. Family Day's been held at a variety of venues, from Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco's Financial District, to Kezar Stadium, and now Monster Park, where the team plays.

I must admit I was skeptical that the stadium was the best place for it, but the Niners organization did a real good job of mixing activities with players and locker room tours. The event -- which went from 11 to 3 PM -- was a lot of fun. The weather was super, and there was a feeling of optimism in the air.

Many people believe the 49ers will be better this year, even if the team's won/loss record is just eight-and-eight. In this video, I get to interview KNBR and 49ers commentator Joe Starkey, who's best known for his dramatic call of "The Play" in 1982.

I also present NFL alums like Steve Kinney and Jeff Bayer, the Gold Rush Cheerleaders, and poke my camera in on various goings on, from 49ers First Round Draft Pick Vernon Davis' playing with a little girl running the 40-yard dash, to the sudden collapse of a very long fence as Manny Lawson, the Second Pick In The First Round's clowning with a young fan.

On the matter of how the event could be improved for next year, one way is to better use the jumbotron screen. At this year's family day there were videos posted from someone running around with a camera. Frankly, not many people paid attention to it. What's better is to have scenes from the 49ers great moments of the past: "The Catch," Steve Young's famous weaving touchdown run in against the Vikings 1988, and other plays.

Another improvement is to have each 49ers player wear polo shirt with their name and jersey number on their left chest. See, causal fans only know the players in uniform. At family day, as one person in the video remarked, many people don't know who the players are.

Another problem was that fans were not informed of the "bag rule" where bags, purses, and backpacks that were below a certain size were not allowed to be brought in. I personally saw one family fall victim to this information as we were standing in line to get in. The mother elected to stand in line, while the father and daughter ran back to the car. Not good.

But in general, the event was a success. I think Monster Park was a great place to have it.

This video was originally shared on blip.tv by zennie2005 with a Creative Commons Attribution license.

San Francisco 49ers Family Day - Event Provides Fun With Niners Draft Picks


Watch the video
The San Francisco 49ers hold an event called "Family Day" annually to kick off the start of the NFL training camp period and the football season. Family Day's been held at a variety of venues, from Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco's Financial District, to Kezar Stadium, and now Monster Park, where the team plays.

I must admit I was skeptical that the stadium was the best place for it, but the Niners organization did a real good job of mixing activities with players and locker room tours. The event -- which went from 11 to 3 PM -- was a lot of fun. The weather was super, and there was a feeling of optimism in the air.

Many people believe the 49ers will be better this year, even if the team's won/loss record is just eight-and-eight. In this video, I get to interview KNBR and 49ers commentator Joe Starkey, who's best known for his dramatic call of "The Play" in 1982.

I also present NFL alums like Steve Kinney and Jeff Bayer, the Gold Rush Cheerleaders, and poke my camera in on various goings on, from 49ers First Round Draft Pick Vernon Davis' playing with a little girl running the 40-yard dash, to the sudden collapse of a very long fence as Manny Lawson, the Second Pick In The First Round's clowning with a young fan.

On the matter of how the event could be improved for next year, one way is to better use the jumbotron screen. At this year's family day there were videos posted from someone running around with a camera. Frankly, not many people paid attention to it. What's better is to have scenes from the 49ers great moments of the past: "The Catch," Steve Young's famous weaving touchdown run in against the Vikings 1988, and other plays.

Another improvement is to have each 49ers player wear polo shirt with their name and jersey number on their left chest. See, causal fans only know the players in uniform. At family day, as one person in the video remarked, many people don't know who the players are.

Another problem was that fans were not informed of the "bag rule" where bags, purses, and backpacks that were below a certain size were not allowed to be brought in. I personally saw one family fall victim to this information as we were standing in line to get in. The mother elected to stand in line, while the father and daughter ran back to the car. Not good.

But in general, the event was a success. I think Monster Park was a great place to have it.

This video was originally shared on blip.tv by zennie2005 with a Creative Commons Attribution license.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Getting Closer to Training Camps

It only took us 6 weeks to catch our Breath from the 2006 NFL draft and Guess what?
Here comes the Supplemental draft. July 13th will be the day where players who were ineligible for selection in the regular draft will have a chance to get on an NFL roster. This Draft is not open to un-allocated players from NFL Europe, or former CFL or Arena league players. Some names you might hear-or might not, in three weeks are:
Former U.S. Marine and University of Texas FB Ahmad Hall. Hall Played his HS Ball at Angelton Texas alongside of current S.D. Charger DB Quiten Jammer. Hall is a Combat Veteran of the war in Iraq, but managed to get back to school in time to help the Longhorns "Hook" themselvs a National title.
Another possible player candidate is former Iowa St. DE/LB Jason Berryman. The 6'-1"-235 pounder runs a 4.72 in the 40, 7.38 in the 3 cone drill, has a 32 inch vertical leap, and a 9'11" Broad jump. He also did 17 reps at 225 pounds. Those are his Pro day stats from earlier this month. Not only were several NFL teams' scouts present, but GB Packers Director of College scouting John Dorsey ran the Workout.

Other possible selections are. University of Virginia LB Ahmad Brooks, and Hutchinson C.C. of Kan LB David Dixon.

In some Front Office News- Many in the Press this past week are singing the praises of new Jets Head coach Eric Mangini as Possibly the best new coach in the NFL. I'm not sure how you can base that on two mini-camps, but lets not forget his supporting cast-a Scouting staff that remained unchanged from the prior regime, including former GM Terry Bradway back in the scouting dept. Many suspect that Bradway is only hanging on until the end of his contract or his next job offer, but a source close to Weeb Eubank Hall tells this reporter that While Bradway had little input if any in developing the jets draft board, he was key in generating the scouting reports.

Moving south to Carolina, The Panthers are looking for a new director of college scouting, but might not have to look far. They could tap one of their own in Jeff Morrow, their national scout. Morrow has been around the game of football for awhile, and would be a solid choice for the promotion.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS MOVE TRAINING CAMP TO MILLSAPS COLLEGE

Press release printed as presented on NFLMedia.com

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS MOVE TRAINING CAMP TO MILLSAPS COLLEGE

For Immediate Release: June 22, 2006

The New Orleans Saints announced at a morning press conference that they will hold their 2006 summer training camp on the campus of Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. The press conference was attended by Saints Owner Tom Benson,
Executive Vice-President/Owner Rita Benson LeBlanc, Executive Vice-President/General Manager Mickey Loomis, Millsaps
President Dr. Frances Lucas, along with Saints Running Backs Deuce McAllister and Fred McAfee. The Saints have held
training camp at the teams Metairie training facility for the last three years.

Jackson will be the sixth different site for training camp since Benson purchased the team in 1985. The team has held camp in Ruston, La. (1985), Hammond, La. (1986-87), La Crosse, Wis. (1988-99), Thibodaux, La. (2000-02) and Metairie, La. (2003-05).

The players will be allowed to report to campus on July 27th with practice beginning the next day. The team will remain in
Jackson until their preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 26 at 6 p.m.

Millsaps College is an NCAA Division III school with a student enrollment of 1,123 undergraduate. The scenic campus, located just north of downtown Jackson, will offer the team multiple natural grass fields for practice along with a Sprinturf field, similar to the field used in the Louisiana Superdome.

NFL Network Annouces Agreement With Cable Companies - NFLMedia.com

Press release presented as written by the NFL.

GAMES ON!
75 DISTRIBUTORS INK DEALS TO CARRY NFL NETWORK ON EXPANDED
BASIC RIGHTS INCLUDE AIRING OF NFL NET'S PRIMETIME GAMES

NFL Network announced today the completion of 75 affiliation agreements with cable companies to carry the 24-hour, year-round football channel from the National Football League -- including the rights to air its primetime regular season games this fall.

All of the deals are for the "expanded basic" level of service, meaning the most broadly distributed package the video provider offers. All distributors will also get to carry NFL Network's exclusive national slate of 52 preseason games as well as benefit from the ability to sell ads in programming targeted to America’s most
avid fans, NFL fans.

Cable operators are signing up at a torrid pace since NFL Network became the exclusive home to the new primetime regular season NFL games package and announced that Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth would be the Network's primary broadcast team.

NFL Network will televise 168 football games in 2006, including preseason, regular season, game re-airs, NFL Europe League, the Insight Bowl and Senior Bowl games, in addition to the most robust and popular sports Video-On-Demand content in the industry.

"We have had terrific partnerships with the distributors who have been carrying NFL Network the past two years," said Brian Decker, NFL Network's vice president, national accounts. "They recognize the value proposition NFL Network offers and the opportunities an association with the NFL presents, so these newcomers to NFL Network will begin to see immediate benefits to being part of our team."

These new and existing NFL Network distributors have received significant advertising inventory during each NFL Net game telecast. This telecast time represents some of the most valuable and sought after advertising opportunities in cable. NFL games accounted for 9 of the 10 most watched basic cable programs in 2005 and NFL football has been the No. 1 rated series on cable for 19 consecutive years -- since its inception in 1987.

With the creation of the new primetime Thursday/Saturday package of games -- the first new NFL game package in sixteen years -- the cable industry is in a position to reap substantial benefits.

NFL Network plans nearly 2,000 hours of original programming in the coming year, including 52 preseason games, 75 game re-airs, 8 primetime games, plus the expansion of programming including a half-dozen series in the fall.

NFL Network airs seven days a week, 24 hours a day on a year-round basis and is the first television network fully dedicated to the NFL and the sport of football. For more information, log onto

NFL Network

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Bert Sugar at The 2006 NFL Draft




On my first visit to the NFL Draft last year, my good friend Bill Chachkes said "Hey Zennie, go over to (HBO Boxing Analyst) Bert Sugar and ask him for a cigar." So I did, and wound up in a great joke-telling conversation with Sugar and commentator and personality Roy Firestone. And I got a great cig.

So, I went up to Sugar again at the 2006 NFL Draft, and he remembered me and again presented me with a great cigar, and this time an excellent rumination on the Ukranian boxer Vladimir Klichco's problems in the ring.

He then smoothly moved from that topic to how he told the late Pete Rozelle that the NFL Draft was going to be a big thing years before it was. I love Bert. He's always got an opinion, a smile...and a cigar. Bert Sugar's a true New Yorker.
Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

Friday, June 23, 2006

Shaq Gets In Touch With His Inner Superman - TV Spot Shows Melding Of Sports and Entertainment

In this newest trailer that was ran during the NBA Finals, Miami Heat Center Shaq O'Neill is intercut with scenes from the upcoming Superman movie. The NBA's done this melding of it's players and super hero movies for at least the last three years.

Here's Shaq and Superman:

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Niners Offensive Coordinator Norv Turner Answers My Question About Scheme



Several months ago I sent in a question to San Francisco 49ers' offensive coordinator Norv Turner. Well he answered it on the 49ers website. Here it is:

Q: To what degree has the college game caught up with the NFL in scheme design in the passing game, in your view? I have three playbooks: 1999 St. Louis Rams, 2005 Notre Dame, and 2004 Cal Bears. What is interesting to me is that I can find the same double screen in two books, and more plays that are similar, than not. Have we reached an era of "scheme sameness?" Does this make it easier for a rookie QB like Ben Roethlisberger or the Niners Alex Smith to be successful? Zennie Abraham

A: I don’t think you are ever going to get to that degree actually because in the NFL it is much more based on personnel matchups than in college. There are also limitations to what you can do in the NFL. You are not going to have your quarterback do the type of things you would in college, like running the football. I think probably the biggest difference would be the individual matchups you have to handle. For instance let’s say a great pass rusher against a tackle - that might limit what you can do from a scheme standpoint in the NFL.

I think people oversimplify the transition for quarterbacks because it isn’t scheme that makes it difficult for a young quarterback. The difference is the level of play. The rush is much faster, more severe and the hits are a lot tougher on a young quarterback. The coverage, particularly in man coverage, is much better and closer. The margin of error is less in the NFL and you don’t get away with sloppy plays or poorly thrown balls. For young quarterbacks, the precision is much greater for them than in college and some guys just handle the adjustment quicker than others.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Whats so Funny Plaxico?

So Mr. Burris, why do you insist that you don't need to be in the Giants off-season program? Don't You remember how "Invisible" you were in the Play-off loss to Carolina, or how you withered away in the month of December While Eli struggled?

When you came to NY last spring you assured us you would be worth your 26+ million dollars, that indeed you are a team player even if you march to a different drummer(in the army, people who march to different drummers either get kicked out, or put in special operations!). Does that march include only knowing how to leap up for a ball and one or two other moves during your pass routes? So that means when you aren't open this year you'll stop WHINING when Eli throws to Tiki out of the backfield, or Jeremy across the middle? Pray tell Plaxico, what will you say when your numbers slip??

Tony Softli New VP of St. Louis Rams - AP and Seattle PI

St. Louis Rams hired a new VP and eliminated the GM position.

ST. LOUIS -- The Rams have restructured their front office, eliminating the general manager position and hiring two vice presidents.

Tony Softli was selected vice president for player personnel, the Rams said Tuesday. Softli, formerly director of college scouting for the Panthers, will lead the player personnel department that will include longtime general manager Charley Armey, whose new title is vice president for pro personnel.

Softli, 46, began working in scouting when the Panthers entered the league in 1995 and took over as director of college scouting in 2000. He is credited with helping draft standouts Julius Peppers, Steve Smith and Kris Jenkins.

Softli has ties to new coach Scott Linehan.

The two worked together on the University of Washington coaching staff in 1994. Before that, Softli was a linebacker for the Huskies.

"Choose or Lose The A's" Meeting - June 20th 2006




While many -- probably you -- were watching the epic Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks NBA Finals game, a giant handful of Oaklanders were holding the third meeting of a group called "Choose or Lose The A's".

Hey, I didn't make up the title. That honor belongs to Robert Limon, who organized this effort which has picked up steam and will be marked by it's first event, a July 7th tailgate party at the Oakland Coliseum in the "B" parking lot.

The group's idea is to drum up enough fan support to encourage elected officials to pay attention to and take real action leading to the retention of the Oakland A's in Oakland. This vlog shows one of the planning meetings of the group, of which I'm a member. But we encourage you to get involved in any way large or small -- even if it's just sending an email link to this vlog to someone you know anywhere in the World who's an A's fan. Drop me an email at zenabraham@aol.com

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Beattie's Birthday




This is a very simple vlog of the birthday gathering for Beattle, the five-year-old daughter of my good friend J. Randy Gordon. It includes my good friend Beth and Randy's girlfriend Julie.

I posted this mainly because every time I need to smile, I watch it. That and Beattie looks just like my good friend K.J, minus 26 years!
Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)