New NFL rule is not kicking in for Bears
WITH ALL THE talk of moving the kickoffs up to the 35-yard line (see Page 75), the Chicago Bears took the rule book into their own hands. In Saturday's preseason win over the Buffalo Bills, the Bears defied the rule twice in the first half. Bears kicker R
WITH ALL THE talk of moving the kickoffs up to the 35-yard line (see Page 75), the Chicago Bears took the rule book into their own hands. In Saturday's preseason win over the Buffalo Bills, the Bears defied the rule twice in the first half. Bears kicker Robbie Gould lined up his first and second kickoffs at the 30 instead of the 35, as called for in the new rule. When told of the kickoffs, Carl Johnson, the NFL's vice president of officiating, called Soldier Field and ordered officials to "put a stop to it," according to Fox Sports.
The Bears reportedly told the officiating crew beforehand that they would kick off from the 30 at some point.
Turns out, Chicago was more interested in practicing kickoff coverage than defying the new rule.
"Robbie Gould . . . we can put it on the 35 and he can kick it out each time," Bears coach Lovie Smith told the Chicago Sun-Times. "We're not really getting a good evaluation of what we can do coverage-wise on some of our players. That's what we were trying to do with it."
Fat City
The Reading Phillies, long known for creative promotions, are offering Gluttony Night tomorrow at FirstEnergy Stadium.
For just $7, you get a special wristband that will permit you to shove your face with hot dogs, pizza, French fries, funnel cake, ice cream and soda from 5 p.m., when the gates open, until the seventh-inning stretch.
What about beer? The R-Phils didn't forget you guzzlers. If you are at least 21 years old, you can partake in a happy hour (5- 6 p.m.) with $1 off all beers.
Wouldn't this be a more effective promotion for the IronPigs?
Bird trap
Mark Perez, of Pittsburgh's Carnegie Science Center, is the mastermind behind the Life Size Mousetrap, a 50,000-pound, 16-piece contraption patterned after the 1960s board game. Instead of using marbles and a plastic cage to capture the mouse, Perez' monstrosity uses bowling balls and a 2-ton metal safe, which is dropped from a 30-foot crane and has been used to crush cars.
So, how is this an H&I item? Before Thursday's Steelers-Eagles game, Perez' gang plans to drop that 2-ton weight on a cardboard likeness of the Eagles' mascot.
Compared to this, throwing snowballs at Santa Claus doesn't seem so bad.