Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Maybe it was all the history on Lombardi Avenue at Lambeau Field.Maybe it's all those ghosts of Hutson and Starr and Hornung and Nitschke that seem to hover over this small Wisconsin town that was once known as Titletown, U.S.A.Maybe it was just good tackling.Whatever it was, the Green Bay Packers turned in the football equivalent of holding Michael Jordan without a basket yesterday.The Packers held one of the best runners of his time -- Barry Sanders -- to minus-1 yard rushing yesterday to beat the Detroit Lions, 16-12, in a first-round playoff game before 58,125 fans.

Quarterback Brett Favre has no illusions about the task ahead of the Green Bay Packers after they beat the Detroit Lions in their first-round playoff game Saturday."

It probably wasn't a coincidence that Jerry Markbreit's officiating crew was assigned to the San Francisco 49ers-Green Bay Packers game Monday night.It was one of the most significant games of the season, and Markbreit is supposed to be one of the best referees.He's been working big games since the famous 1966 10-10 tie between Michigan State and Notre Dame and even wrote a book called "Born to Referee."He wrote in the book, "In order to live with the job, you accept that people rarely remember the good things you do. They only remember mistakes.

Antonio Freeman is about to roll the dice in free agency and take a gamble that could make -- or cost -- him millions of dollars.The Baltimore native is a restricted free agent in his fourth season and will become an unrestricted free agent next year.The Green Bay Packers have given him the one-year tender of $1.153 million, which means that any team that tries to sign him would have to give up first- and third-round draft picks this year if the Packers don't match the offer. That effectively takes him off the market this year.

Desperate teams tend to do desperate things.Like signing wide receiver Andre Rison.Desperate is about the best description of the Green Bay Packers' decision to claim Rison off waivers after he was cut loose by the Jacksonville Jaguars.It was an obvious overreaction to the team's disappointing loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night.Team president Bob Harlan said that general manager Ron Wolf came up to him on the bus after the game and suggested bringing in Rison. Harlan, who runs the administrative side and leaves the football decisions to Wolf, said it was his call.

Reggie White helped the Green Bay Packers hold the line again last week.White helped persuade free-agent defensive lineman Gilbert Brown to stay in Green Bay for less money than what Jacksonville was offering. He made daily calls to Brown, trying to sell him on the idea of staying.The Jaguars were willing to offer him more than $3 million a year and it was assumed Brown was going to take it. Players almost always take the best deal.Sure, Jerome Bettis stayed in Pittsburgh for a bit less ($14.

I've been checking the weather in Green Bay the past few days, thinking about the NFL playoffs. Two years ago almost to the day, I was there doing a story on how that charming little football hamlet, all decked out for the holidays, was talking about the prospect of the Packers finishing out of the playoffs for the first time in umpteen years. I've been in some cold places, but the combination of arctic chill and wind in Green Bay was unbelievable. It hurt to walk to your car. So I was reminded of that as the Dallas Cowboys lost to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

NEW ORLEANS -- What caused Ron Wolf to become enamored of pro football was an attraction to a team that is no longer in business the Baltimore Colts, now only a treasured memory. Yes, even dating to their origin, when they wore green and silver uniforms.Now, 45 years later, he's executive vice president/general manager of the Green Bay Packers, a team that he put back together, like Humpty Dumpty, after a long fall from contending status. With his handiwork comes the manifestation of what could be a dominant force in how future NFL championships are decided.

For the public's consumption, the gang at Fox is maintaining a brave front, swearing up and down that the absence of San Francisco from Sunday's NFC championship game is not a disappointment."

The Green Bay Packers not only have several former San Francisco 49ers spread across their team, but they are starting to win like the 49ers, too.From a feeble 2-5 start, they have mounted an unlikely playoff run in the NFC."At the beginning of the year, I'd have laughed if you'd have told me we'd be in this situation," said quarterback Brett Favre.Going into Sunday's game at Houston, the Packers have won four in a row and five of six. At 7-6, they are challenging the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles for one of two remaining wild-card playoff spots in the NFC. With a little luck and a collapse by Minnesota, they could even contend for the NFC Central title when they visit the Vikings on Dec. 27.It's a big jump from the 4-12 season the Packers endured a year ago under Lindy Infante.