Green Bay

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- There's an insatiable commercial reality to the National Football League reaching the exorbitant point of wondering if sometime the teams, maybe wearing dollar signs instead of numbers, might forget to kick off.Yet the Green Bay Packers remain a surviving and refreshing symbol of the grand old days of professional sports.The spirited story of the Packers, how they came to be and have lived on for 79 years, is one that never becomes outdated or redundant. This is a team owned by a prideful public for the dual purpose of providing entertainment while giving itself a "Little David" feel-good civic identity.

It was, Willie Richardson said, the perfect send-off. Against Pittsburgh in 1971, the Colts' veteran caught two touchdown passes within two minutes to break open a 34-21 victory at Memorial Stadium. They would be the final TDs in a nine-year career for Richardson, an All-Pro receiver. He'd been dealt to Pittsburgh in 1970 only to return, a year later, as a free agent - just in time to stomp the Steelers. Released at season's end, he retired, a happy man. "I never wanted to leave Baltimore in the first place," recalled Richardson, 73. "But to come back and have that kind of a game, in front of the Colts fans, was icing on the cake for me. " Nowadays, he is color commentator for football games at Jackson State, his alma mater.

Every handicapper should be permitted one minute of madness during the NFL season. So I'll plead guilty, in advance, to having little more than a hunch as the primary reason for selecting the Chicago Bears, 11 1/2 -point underdogs, to cover Sunday at Soldier Field against the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.The Bears are 0-6, at the bottom of the NFC Central. They've been blown out by Detroit and New England, faded badly in the second half at Dallas, lost by 14 at Green Bay, and disgraced coach Dave Wannstedt by losing to former coach Mike Ditka's New Orleans team last Sunday night in Chicago.

Two Baltimore groups were among 10 around the Chesapeake Bay receiving $376,000 Wednesday to "green" their communities while also providing job training. Belair-Edison Neighborhoods Inc. and Southeast Community Development Corp. were awarded a combined $102,000 under the Environmental Protection Agency 's " Green Streets-Green Jobs-Green Towns " initiative. Under the program, local governments and nonprofit organizations can get grants for projects involving tree-plantings and other measures to reduce storm-water washing into local waters.  Assistance is also provided to train people in constructing such projects.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Green Bay Packers lost return specialist Desmond Howard to free agency this year and replaced him with Qadry Ismail.They lost veteran defensive end Sean Jones to retirement and added the stability of linebacker Seth Joyner, a 12-year vet himself.They lost wide receiver Andre Rison to salary cap economics and effectively filled the void with Robert Brooks, who was the team's best receiver until a severe knee injury last October short-circuited his season.The more the Packers subtracted this off-season, the more they enhanced their position as the team to beat in the NFL this season.

Snap, Crackle and Pop:The practical joker (or fiend) of the year has to be the guy in the NFL office who scheduled the Los Angeles Rams into Green Bay for a game on Dec. 20. Besides being 6 degrees at kickoff time, the wind was howling (minus-15 wind chill) and the West Coasters had played in an average temperature of 74 degrees all season.* It now becomes clear why, in all probability, Michael Dokes, 34 (going on 44), got the call to be heavyweight champ Riddick Bowe's first title defense.

Chop Tang scored 16 points and had nine rebounds to lead Wisconsin-Green Bay past Morgan State, 71-54, yesterday in the Glenn Wilkes Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla. Tang converted all six of his free throws and Green Bay made 28-for-30 from the stripe. Green Bay (2-2) also got 15 points and seven rebounds from Randy Berry and 15 points from Mike Schachtner, who connected on seven of eight free throws. Morgan State (2-4) was led by Marquise Kately, who had 14 points, and Reggie Holmes, who scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Green Bay's Richie Cunningham kicked a 42-yard field goal with three seconds remaining as the Green Bay Packers defeated the Ravens, 17-15, on Aug. 17 at Memorial Stadium.It was the Ravens' first loss of the preseason after two victories and came against a team many favor to win the 1997 Super Bowl.Cunningham's kick ended an eight-play drive that started at the Green Bay 31 with 1: 02 left. The big play in the drive was a 35-yard pass from quarterback Doug Pederson to receiver Desmond Howard that put the ball on the Ravens' 30.The Ravens had taken a 15-14 lead with 1: 06 left when quarterback Eric Zeier threw a 12-yard scoring pass to Ray Ethridge.

Tiny Green Bay, which was supposed to be only a pit stop on Reggie White's grand tour, became the surprise new home for the most sought-after prize in the NFL's new free-agent system.And officials for the franchise in the NFL's smallest city did it the old-fashioned way: They made him the best offer, an offer the Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman couldn't refuse.The Packers gave the seven-time Pro Bowl player a four-year, $17 million deal that includes $9 million the first year -- $6 million before he pulls on his shoulder pads.

SCOUTING REPORT Ravens rushing vs. Packers run defense -- PACKERS Terry Allen found a rhythm with the offensive line last week against the Titans, showing vision on his cutback runs to produce 108 yards rushing. But center Mike Flynn has his biggest chore of the season in moving mammoth Packers NT Gilbert Brown. The Ravens could be missing LG Edwin Mulitalo, a powerful run blocker who is questionable with a knee injury and may not go on a possibly rain-soaked turf. Green Bay is second only to the Ravens in run defense, giving up an average of 65.5 yards a game despite allowing a generous 3.7 yards per carry.

In a legislative session marked by discord over taxes and gambling, lawmakers came together to pass three major bills aimed at boosting Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts. They failed to agree, however, on other environmental priorities - a bill to subsidize building wind turbines off Ocean City, and a measure requiring natural gas companies to pay for studying the impacts of drilling for energy in western Maryland. The General Assembly approved two bay billls that were priorities of the O'Malley administration bills, one doubling the 'flush fee' to pay for upgrading sewage treatment plants and another limiting rural development on septic systems.  A third late-moving bill pushed by environmentalists would require Baltimore city and nine suburban counties to levy local fees to pay for curbing polluted runoff from their streets and parking lots.

Still too soon to say Sam Farmer Los Angeles Times Of course the Packers stand a chance of going undefeated in the regular season. Will they? I doubt it. We're just five weeks into the season, and so many things can happen over the next 11 games — key injuries, a letdown, or simply a good team that's better than Green Bay on that particular day. Plus, there's the likelihood that if the Packers were to build a comfortable lead in the division — no guarantee, considering how Detroit is playing — they would take their foot off the pedal, rest some starters, and coast into the postseason.

SUNDAY'S TELEVISION HIGHLIGHTS IndyCar Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg 2, 712:30 NASCAR Sprint Cup Auto Club 400 45, 52:30 MLB exhib. Boston@Orioles MASN1 Philadelphia@Atlanta MLB1 Colorado@Cubs WGN-A4 Boston@Orioles (T) MASN8 C. base. Georgia Tech@Miami CSN1 M. bask. NCAA Elite 8: teams TBA 13, 92:10 NCAA Elite 8: teams TBA 13, 94:55 W. bask.

SUNDAY'S TELEVISION HIGHLIGHTS M. bask. Michigan@Penn State BIGTENNoon Rutgers@Notre Dame MASNNoon Michigan State@Wisconsin 13, 91 American@Lehigh CBSCS2 Florida State@North Carolina CSN2 Ohio State@Minnesota ESPN2 Marist@Niagara MASN3 W. bask. Fordham@La Salle CBSCSNoon N.C. State@Maryland CSNNoon Syracuse@Rutgers ESPNUNoon Baylor@Oklahoma State ESPNU2 Purdue@Michigan State BIGTEN3 Nebraska@Colorado CSN4 South Carolina@Arkansas ESPNU4 Northwestern@Ohio State BIGTEN5 NBA Orlando@Boston 2, 72:30 Atlanta@Washington (T)

Stop me if you've heard this. A man walks into a Packers bar in Millersville. No, wait, that's no joke. There really is a Green Bay Packers bar in Millersville: Bullseye Sports Bar and Grill, tucked between motels catering to long-haul truckers and home of a Super Bowl $10 All-You-Can-Eat Bratwurst Buffet. The walls are devoted to everything Green Bay: photos, news clippings, jerseys, even a figurine at the end of the bar dressed in green and gold and wearing a cheesehead.

The temperature for Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears is expected to be 38 degrees. That's perfect for the Ravens. In this decade, the Ravens are 8-0 at home when the game-time temperature dips below 40 degrees. Under coach John Harbaugh, the Ravens have dominated all three of these cold-weather games in Baltimore, outscoring their opponents 108-20 (that's an average score of 36-7). Their success in chilly conditions isn't happenstance. Harbaugh stresses beating the weather to his players.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Twenty-nine years after they won the famed "Ice Bowl" on frozen Lambeau Field, the Green Bay Packers will try to re-create a chapter from their storied past.When the Packers beat the Dallas Cowboys, 21-17, on Dec. 31, 1967, in temperatures that hit 16-below zero in the NFL championship game, it propelled them into Super Bowl II. Two weeks later, they hammered the AFL's Oakland Raiders, 33-14, to finish as champions for the third straight year.Things haven't been the same in Green Bay since.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Mike Holmgren is supposed to know all the secrets of the San Francisco 49ers offense because he was the team's offensive coordinator for six years before becoming Green Bay Packers head coach.So what was Holmgren's advice for Packers defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur this week?"I tried put in my two cents," Holmgren said. "I said, 'Let's watch Jerry Rice. Make sure he's covered.' "Holmgren said Shurmur replied, "Is that all?"Shurmur stopped Rice yesterday with a scheme that featured double coverage and jamming him at the line of scrimmage.

Mae Heinlein Burial in Woodlawn Cemetery, Green Bay.

L eading up to Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions, the Ravens were asked several times whether it would be an adjustment preparing for Daunte Culpepper instead of Matthew Stafford. But playing a team's backup quarterback has become a regular occurrence for the Ravens. This marks the 10th time during their past 44 games (dating to the 2007 season) that the Ravens will have faced a backup quarterback. The Ravens have taken advantage. Their record against backups is 7-2, including five straight wins.