Month: February 2026

DO IT FOR JOHNNY HOCKEY

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The U.S Men’s hockey team slayed their personal demons on Sunday in Milan, Italy as they beat the Canadians in the finals. The United States earned themselves the gold medal for the first time since 1980 when the Miracle on Ice took place in Lake Placid. In 1980 it was college players pulling off the major upset beating the Russian machine for the gold pulling off one of the biggest miracles in sports history. Then 46 years later a U.S team made up of NHL players beat the country that breeds and bleeds hockey, the Canadians, 2-1 in overtime. They pulled off an upset against a neighboring country that was loaded as well with NHL talent across the boards. The USA Olympic hockey team has formed a brotherhood of players built like a fraternity of close friends and family. The roster actually has two sets of brothers that are actually blood related. The Hughes and Tkachuk families who made a big dent in why the US. team went a perfect 6-0. They played for one of their fallen teammates as well, Johnny Hockey. Johnny Gaudreau had his life cut down short when he and his brother were mowed down by a drunken driver in New Jersey while cycling. The motivation and the comradery of this team pulled off something special that will go down in the history books on Sunday with this team pulling off the gold medal while many loaded NHL U.S. teams have failed miserably against the Maple Leafs.

It was Jack Hughes’ shot in the extra frame that ended the demons of the past that gave the United States their second goal of the game and the decider. It was a great pass by Zach Werenski that gave Jack the perfect shot and his biggest goal of his career. Jack plays for the Devils & he had 4 goals and 3 assists in the 2026 Olympics. His brother Quinn Hughes, who plays for the Minnesota Wild, had 1 goal and dished out 7 assists in the ’26 Olympics. It was Matt Boldy who got the U.S. team on the board in the first period in the gold round to give his country the 1-0 lead. In the second period it was Cale Makar with the equalizer that tied things up after two periods. The Tkachuks made their presence in every game of the Olympics that the USA played. Matthew Tkachuk is one of the biggest cogs in this USA wheel as he had 6 assists. His play is all over the ice doing the dirty work and the little things that don’t find their way on the stat sheet at the end of the night. He has now won two Stanley Cup championships in back to back years with the Panthers. Both championships were the last two years and he now adds a gold medal to the back of his hockey card. His brother Brady who plays for the Senators had 3 goals and 2 assists in the Olympics. Back to Jack Hughes who was playing with a bloody mouth and had some teeth that went missing in this big game. He still played through the pain and really came up big. After the game he commented on the brotherhood of this USA team which goes back to other teams that have lost to Canada in the past in these Olympic games.

In 2002 in Salt Lake City, the U.S. lost to Canada in the gold medal round 5-2. In 2010 in Vancouver it was Sid the Kid Crosby’s memorable goal that ended the USA in the gold round 3-2 in OT.

In the preliminary round of 2010, U.S. did beat Canada 5-3 but the Maple Leafs would get the last laugh in that one. Then in 2014 Canada shut out the United States at the Sochi Winter Olympics 1-0 in the semi-finals. The Canadians have been a thorn in the side for U.S teams for decades in these Olympic games.

This game between USA and Canada came down to solid goal tending by both countries. Jordan Binnington for Canada was amazing but came up short giving up the second goal in OT. Connor Hellebuyck was just better perhaps with a little help from the spirit of Johnny Gaudreau, especially how the hell he got his stick on a puck Devon Toews could have gotten in the net in his sleep. Devon got the rebound and tapped it into a practically wide open net. In the last second, Hellebuyck reached out with his stick to stop that shot. In second period he also snuffed out a breakaway from one of the NHL superstars in Connor McDavid. How many goalies could say that they stopped McDavid coming right at you by themself? He also stopped a breakaway from Macklin Celebrini that was a huge save in the game. Hellebuyck stopped 41 out of Canada’s 42 shots including overtime.

On August 29th of 2024, Johnny Gaudreau was in the prime of his hockey career when he was killed at 31 years of age. Johnny and brother Matthew were riding bikes near their home the night before their sister’s wedding. He played 11 seasons in the NHL which started with the Calgary Flames. He played 9 seasons in Calgary. The last two seasons of Johnny Hockey’s career he suited up for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played in 763 NHL games & scored 243 goals while dishing out 500 assists for 743 total NHL points. He would have been a part of this gold medal team if he was not killed. The team honored him by having his number 13 jersey displayed in the locker room. They brought it out to the bench. They had a banner with both Gaudreau brothers in their hockey uniforms. Matthew was in his Boston College uniform. The Gaudreau family was in attendance. This includes his parents Jane and Guy Gaudreau. His wife Meredith and their two children, 3 year old daughter Noa and 2 year old Johnny Jr.. After the Americans won, for the celebratory picture on the ice with the team a few of the players brought Johnny’s kids out there. They ended up in the picture which really makes this win very special in many ways. We really have never seen USA Hockey win the gold medal because it’s been almost 50 years. To win it this icon medal for your country and give a player and his family a tribute is really something the world should take notice of. This is how humanity should be coming together after going through some kind of tragedy. Johnny would have been 32 years of age and you have to believe he would have made the USA team and contributed to this magical run they had this season. The family of Johnny needed that. These tributes celebrate the fallen like the Billy Joel song, “Only the Good Die Young.” All these athletes playing in the Olympics have their own stories. They had people they loved that have passed away. The motivation. How they got here. How they performed for those missing people who are watching from the heavens. The NHL players are professional players. Sometimes professionals need a little reminder that life can be good, bad, and ugly. It’s how you handle yourself. They handle it by achieving their goal winning the gold. Some day I hope Johnny Graudeau Jr. becomes a professional hockey player. Johnny Hockey II, sounds like an up and coming superstar in the NHL. Maybe he will help USA win another gold medal.

PONCHERELLO EXPRESSES HIS BEST WISHES ON THE CHEETAH’S RELEASE FROM SOUTH BEACH

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On September 29th of 2025, wide receiver Tyreek Hill AKA the Cheetah had his season came to an end with the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins were playing the Jets and FLASH suffered a severe season ending injury as he tore his ACL along with dislocating the knee. Hill would only play in 4 games in 2025 and now he will be looking for a new team next season along with continuing to go through rehab for his injury as the Dolphins released the difficult talented wide receiver. The Dolphins look to be in full rebuild after another disastrous season. Hill’s South Beach career lasted 4 seasons in Miami and the Dolphins did not even win one post-season game with his services which they acquired from the Chiefs. After the news came out about the Cheetah’s release, one Dolphin fan had plenty to say about Hill. Danny Torres met Hill before a game in 2024 on the highway as they had an altercation that went viral.

“Hmmm… I guess it took a bit, but karma got you. Now that I’m retired I can tell you how I feel about you.

You’re an entitled ASSHOLE and an embarrassment to the team and the city that kissed your ass.

I wish you the best and hope you are able to afford all that child support, especially now that you’re unemployed.

But I’m sure someone will pick you up and you will cause havoc in their town. Just how you did in Miami.

BTW, next time, roll your fucking window down.”

The old memories that Danny Torres is talking about were on September 8th of 2024. Torres at the time worked as a motorcycle cop for Miami-Dade police. In Miami everyone has a tan as Torres looks like the character Ponch who is Frank Poncherello, played by actor Erik Estrada in the series Chips. If this incident ever turns into a movie, Estrada will play Torres. Obviously Tyreek Hill was pulled over before a home game the Dolphins were about to play in a few hours. Hill was running late so he was speeding. Torres and his partner pulled Hill over for reckless driving and not wearing a seat belt. Torres got angry because Hill would not keep his window down during the stop. The Dolphins wide receiver claimed he was calling his lawyer. Things got heated as video shows Torres removing the Cheetah from the car. Then placing him in cuffs as he sat on the side of the highway hours before game time as the cops completed their stop. Hill would be released and made the game on time, but the incident exploded and went viral. Torres was documented as being too aggressive. He was taken off the streets after the incident and went on administrative duty until the investigation was complete. He may have had to do some desk duty at some point when he returned. The highway patrol man took heated backlash by Joe Public and others for the handling of the situation. Torres had a history of suspensions before his run in with Hill. From 2014-’19, Torres had been suspended close to 50 days for other infractions. Now Torres is retired so he could go on social media and say his farewell to the Cheetah without worrying about his department coming down on him. You wonder if Torres took an early retirement because of that situation.

Tyreek Hill is no saint either. His rap sheet we will rap about. The Cheetah likes to beat up the women in his life. During his college days, domestic violence may have made its first appearance in his life. I doubt that. During his Chiefs days there were allegations of child abuse. Then he had a lawsuit filed against him in Miami by Instagram model Sophie Hall who claimed the Cheetah broke her leg in a football drill at his mansion. Can you make this stuff up? Obviously the highway incident with the Chips in Miami. I can see both sides of that situation. Did Danny Torres have to rip this asshole out of his car like that? He probably deserved that for other incidents the Cheetah has done. Why is Hill closing his window and making this police stop into something? This incident both guys poured gasoline on the fire instead deescalating the situation. Perhaps with both dudes not working at this time they could apply to ICE. After all their specialty is pouring the gasoline on the fire. Then Hill had another domestic violence claim with his wife, Keeta Vaccaro, in 2025. The next team that does take a flier on Hill’s knee will be in for a treat.

Will Tyreek Hills be the same Cheetah on the field when he is done rehabbing his knee injury? Hill has played 10 seasons in the NFL. He started with the Chiefs and played in Kansas City for six seasons, helping them win a Superbowl. The Chiefs and Andy Reid won Superbowls without their talented wide receiver. The Chiefs knew Hill would eventually be too expensive. They probably thought he could be a loose cannon. Hill is not the greatest teammate as he has given up on plenty of plays in Miami. He would be the guy jumping off the Titanic into the boat with the kids and women. In 10 seasons he has solid stats. He has caught 819 balls and tallied up 11,363 receiving yards with 83 touchdown catches. He has made 8 Pro-Bowls. Some team may get him on discount because of his knee injury. I’m sure Hill hopes to hand pick the locker room he would like to be the next cancer in. You would want this talent on your roster by any team just by looking at the numbers. The organization that takes a chance on him will have to be prepared with the baggage you will get with the signing. He is in present day the Antonio Brown of the league. A guy that could snap at any time. I would sway away from paying this guy any big money. Knee injuries of football players are like leg injuries to horses. It may be time to put the Cheetah down. Danny Torres may be a fan of that.

VARSITY BLUES CAST HAS BEEN SNAKE BITTEN

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The 1999 football film Varsity Blues, you can compare to the series of Friday Night Lights. You could even compare it to the original movie version of Friday Night Lights. It’s all about high school football under the lights in the state of Texas. How some of these small Texas high schools treat their football program like it’s at a college or professional level. How the small towns close down practically to watch the home games. The coaching staffs are always on the hot seat because of the pressure cooker jobs they have as they need to win. Everybody is obsessed. Everyone eventually wants to get out of the town like the players and cheerleaders. Like most small towns, they are stuck there as they are rooted and never leave. Like playing football is the key to leaving these small towns. Throw in high school kids drinking & doing drugs after the football games like it’s a college town. Then the addition of all the twisted sex plots to the mix between the cheerleaders and players. Every team has a football player that is laid more than Hugh Hefner in these epic high school Texas football movies. The West Canaan Coyotes established a solid cast as Varsity Blues is not the worst football movie. It’s also not the best. But it is entertaining. Now the cast seems like they dropping dead like flies in recent years at young ages which has snake bitten this 90’s movie. Or perhaps Varsity Blues is getting a better following as they have already lost three main actors who played ball players in this movie over the last several years.

This movie starts with John “Mox” Moxon who was played by the star of Dawson’s Creek, James Van Der Beek. Van Der Beek is the most recent star of this movie to have passed away, he on February 11th. He was the star of the movie. He passes away at 48 years of age after dealing with Colorectal cancer. Mox is the back up quarterback for the Coyotes and is probably better than the starter. Before Mox is thrown into action when the starting QB for the Coyotes is hurt and lost for the season, he was enjoying life as the back up. He had a girlfriend & they talked about future plans for going to college as football was not his forte even though he had a cannon for arm. The Mox also had a high IQ for the X’s and O’s of the playbook, so he didn’t like to do conservative style play calls like his head coach wanted him to do so. The Mox butted heads with the head coach Bud Kilmer who was played by Jon Voight for not using the back up’s plays. You can tell early on in the movie that Mox does not see eye to eye on things with his father or head coach. A precision pass by Mox to his father hits him dead on the nose that breaks which was on purpose. Things change when Mox takes over the starting duties for the team and the Coyotes look better, but Kilmer is not a fan of how they are winning. Mox’s head grows bigger by each contest which draws friction in his relationship with his steady girlfriend.

Anybody for dessert? The whipped cream bikini in the movie Varsity Blues will always be compared to Princess Leia chained up to Jabba the Hutt in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

Two fantasies men would love to live at some point in their lives. The actress in Varsity Blues, Ali Larter, wears the whip cream bikini well. You may know her from the series Landman where she plays Billy Bob Thornton’s other half on that epic Paramount show. Larter’s character in Varsity Blues was Darcy Sears, who was the boyfriend of Lance Harbor, the QB that got hurt and was the captain of the team. Knowing Lance was not coming back on the field, Darcy quickly showed Mox everything and wanted him as her ticket out of this Texas town. Lance Harbor was played by Paul Walker who died in 2013 at the age of 40 from being in a car crash.

Lance Harbor would play a important role later in the movie. He would take over the head coaching duties after Mox and the entire team stood up to the dictator Bud Kilmer. Kilmer was a bad dude who only cared about himself and winning football games. When his players went down with injuries, he wanted to pump drugs in these high school bodies to get them back on the field quicker. The character Wendall Brown, who was the running back for the Coyotes, almost was a victim of Kilmer telling his staff to plunge a needle into his knee. The character Brown was played by actor Eliel Swinton. He is a black guy like most running backs in football. Kilmer was a racist asshole who did not mind Brown running the ball up and down the field. On the goal line the ball for the touchdown went to the white dude for the touchdown. Mox changed that mindset and called a play for his running back to get the easy goal line score. Kilmer did not like that.

Everyone loves a big fat dude that can drink his own body weight. Varsity Blues had the blind side protector in a perfect Texan named Billy Bob. Ron Lester played Billy Bob who would drive a old pick up truck that had his name on the door. He would shoot his gun. He would do anything for his quarterback playing the offensive line. He is a guy that could drink by the gallons. For dinner he probably would consume a 145 pound defensive back. He was one of the big stars in this movie as he died at the age of 45 in 2016 of liver and kidney failure.

The child actor who played John Moxon’s brother in Varsity Blues Joe Pichler went missing when he turned 18 years of age. He was last seen on January 5th of 2006 after hanging out with friends in Bremerton, Washington. They found his car on January 9th of that year as it was abandoned. He vanished without a trace.

In Friday Night Lights the series, Tim Riggins played by actor Taylor Kitsch slept with an older woman while in high school. In Varsity Blues the team finds out one of their teachers strips at the local strip club. Of course they all went to see her. She would then proceed to party with her students after her dance in the club. In the series of Friday Night Lights, they certainly had a local strip club which both establishments looked like they were on the outskirts of town. Not affecting the local Applebees in town. Texas high school football is under the lights. Along with sex, drugs, country music, and all kinds of drama. Coaches that are pressured like they coaching the pros. Finding out that for some of these towns the local high school football is all they have. As they breathe and die by it.

I have read plenty of reports that James Van Der Beek before he died raised some money for cancer in general. He autographed a bunch of John Moxon West Canaan Coyote jerseys to raise money to fight this terrible disease that takes younger people away far too early in life. In general, cancer can kill people of all ages which is terrible. It is sad in general that this movie has lost that many people already after being released in 1999. Jon Voight always plays a great bad guy in many movies. Voight is 87 years of age. I loved Voight in the series of Ray Donavan. Another questionable character he played in that. Varsity Blues did not take home any awards. It was a movie that had some really good moments. It is a movie many people that grew up in the 90’s most definitely watched. Friday Night Lights was the Jaws of Texas under the lights of high school football. While Varsity Blues was maybe that second best shark movie that you can’t quite think of the name. You know you have seen many bad shark movies trying to be better than Jaws on shark week. I rewatched Varsity Blues as I thought I had it. I may have it on VHS. I was able to stream it and the first time was still better then watching it today. It did entertain me and I did not fall asleep during it as it may have been past my bed time while I enjoyed old times. Let’s hope the rest of the cast stays healthy for many years to come to stop the snake bite from oozing anymore more venom.

FORMER NFL D-LINEMAN SACKED IN A HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT

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How does a NFL player become homeless and have to live life on the streets? It probably happens more than you think as players run through their money quickly, especially if making it to the NFL poor. How many times have you heard the story about professional athletes spending all their money on hookers, blow, and fast cars? What about the players that are always on the bubble in the sport fighting tooth and nails trying just to make a roster spot and being paid the minimum. In the game of football, how many concussions can mess with your brain after playing the rough sport for decades? How many military soldiers take on life after war on the streets suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)? When former Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Kevin Johnson came to those crossroads in his life after football, he had to live the lonely life on the streets hoping you can find 3 square meals a day or a cot to sleep on if you were lucky. Many times you have used up all your lifelines at this point like family or friends. For the homeless, a good day may be finding that cot at a church or mission to crash on. Especially a cold night. Is death a good way to get out of living life on the streets? I think nobody wants to end things by being stabbed and taking a lump on your head with some kind of make shift weapon. This is what happened to Kevin Johnson, found dead in a homeless encampment along the LA River, most likely under the bridge. Most common sense suggests a homeless person has nothing worth taking. Police detectives think Johnson has been a victim of a serial killer. In the same area the police have found other homeless people with the same MO being stabbed to death along with blunt head trauma.

Kevin Johnson was killed this year in the month of January in LA where he grew up. He went to college & played football at Texas Southern. Johnson played along side Michael Strahan at Texas Southern who would have a Hall of Fame career with the Giants. Johnson had to have been a pretty good player to be drafted in the 4th round of the 1993 NFL draft 86th overall by the New England Patriots. Just because you were drafted does not automatically benefit in the big pay day. Johnson was not a first round pick which teams will give multiple chances rather than be picked later in the draft. Johnson did not make it on the Patriots as he was cut. He did not give up on his NFL dream as he tried to latch on to the Minnesota Vikings practice squad. He was eventually cut by them and the Oakland Raiders after that. It took Johnson until 1995 to play a game in the NFL as he was picked off waivers by the Philadelphia Eagles. In ’95 he played in 11 games and started 1 of those games. He tallied up six sacks & 19 tackles. He forced a fumble. Had a fumble recovery for his only touchdown of his career which was for 37 yards.

In the same season he played in two preseason games for the Eagles. He registered a tackle and assisted on another one. Johnson returned to the Eagles in his second season and played in 12 games in ’96. He started 5 games in year two with the Eagles. The Eagles would cut ties with the big massive specimen. In 1997 he played for the Raiders and saw action in 15 games. By 1998 he was released by Oakland. He finished his NFL career with 54 tackles and 7 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and the fumble recovery for his only touchdown.

Do you remember when quarterback Kurt Warner used Arena Football as a stepping stone to get into the NFL? This was not quite the case for Kevin Johnson as he still needed to eat and pay the bills after his NFL career at the time came to an end. He landed a team in Arena Football called the Orlando Predators in 1998. Back then it was an Ironman style of football where you played both ways. Johnson had to adapt to playing offensive line and then play his normal defensive position. Then adapting to Arena Football is another challenge for players. Playing football inside on half of a normal 100 yard style field you played on your entire career from Pop Warner and beyond. In his first season, Johnson’s Predators won the Arena Bowl vs another Florida power house called the Tampa Bay Storm. In 1999 the Predators would lose in the Arena bowl vs the Albany Firebirds. In 2000 he would sign with the LA Avengers and then he suffered a season ending injury. In 2001 he would come back to the Avengers and have the faith in another trip to the injured reserve. By July of 2001 Johnson was suspended by the league & the reason for the suspension has never been released.

I do not know what happened next in Kevin Johnson’s life after the gridiron came to an end. Football injuries could linger which means popping pain medication becomes your new sport during the day. The countless nights you probably can’t sleep. What was going on inside his mindset? Could have been dark & twisted with depression setting in. Thoughts about what happened in his entire life just flashed by him. Add concussions to the mix as some of these players can’t adapt to life after football just because their head is not right. On January 21st, the LA County medical examiner rules Johnson’s death a homicide. Being stabbed in your sleep is just a guess and being hit in the head to see the outcast of society by the world living together is you last thing you see on Earth. Terrible!! In the location in LA where it occurred on the 1300 block East 120th street from October of 2025 to this year, the police have counted 4 bodies. Four victims living in these encampments found dead stabbed to death. Imagine this is not the work of a serial killer like Ted Bundy or John Wayne Gacy. Those were guys that planned well and lived in society hidden from their demons and acted like normal citizens. You would think the suspect would be another homeless person dealing with all kinds of mindset problems. The world can be a horrible place. How people get there you would think could have been prevented like Johnson’s death. The signs are usually there. The male species is stubborn in general as many will not ask for help. It sucks people go down these roads. People that have plenty of opportunities in life but just don’t fully take advantage of them. When the mindset becomes unhinged, these things can easily happen. It is hard to slay your inner demons. Hopefully a story like that can prevent guys like Johnson from going down the same path. Hopefully the LA Police department can find this killer and put them behind bars where they belong. Homeless people should not be easy prey even though it could be one of their own.

OLYMPIAN HOCKEY PLAYER ABBEY MURPHY BRINGING GLORY TO HER HOME TOWN EVERGREEN PARK

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The U.S.A. Women’s Hockey team is seeking the gold medal in the 2026 Olympics in Milan, Italy. On Tuesday, February 10th the Women’s Hockey team routed their arch-rival Canada 5-0. So far they are at a perfect 6-0 as they look like they are the best team in the tournament overseas right now. With the win yesterday against Italy, they advanced to the semi-finals. It’s a team with plenty of firepower along with crippling defense that has made them a well-oiled machine on the ice so far. One star on that Olympian team is from my hometown of Evergreen Park, Illinois. 23 year old Abbey Murphy has been outstanding on the ice doing a little bit of everything to help her team and country win games. The town of Evergreen Park is a south suburb of Chicago and has had their share of athletes come through town, who have played well enough to do it professionally.

The most famous resident in Evergreen Park history still belongs to the Unabomber. Ted Kaczynski was a genius growing up in the EP and went to Evergreen Park High School. After high school he was accepted into one of the top schools in the country, an ivy league school known as Harvard University. Something snapped in his mindset as he became a mad bomber using the U.S, mail to deliver his blows in society. A reign of terror that lasted from the late 1970’s into the middle of the 1990’s. It continued until his own brother figured it out and turned him in to the authorities. You can never erase such history like Ted Kaczynski from the town of EP. Sometimes a story about another resident from the town EP may come, like Haley’s Comet returns every 17 years. Something that gives the small suburb hope and provides the feel good story about the town of Evergreen Park. This year Abbey Murphy is that Evergreen Park glory we have been seeking.

Sports run in the Murphy genes. Her father is a former Marine and played college football. Her mother played softball. Her brother wrestled and played football at the college level. Abbey’s love of hockey came at the early age of 6. She skated at Daniel V. Capuano ice rink in the EP. She then joined the St. Jude Hockey Club in Crestwood, a suburb about 15 minutes away. It was there she played mostly on all boys teams and was one of the best players in the league for years as she learned the sport and improved her craft. Then she joined the Chicago Mission Youth, an all girls hockey league. It was a league which had these girls playing 80 games a year. This is the league that developed not only Murphy, but some of her teammates on the U.S. women’s team currently. Those teammates are: Kendall Coyne Schofield, Megan Bozek, Alex Cavallini, Jesse Compher and Savannah Harmon. Murphy went to the same grammar school I did, Most Holy Redeemer, which has a big sign above their gymnasium supporting Abbey. In 2020, Abby graduated from Mother McAuley high school which is in Chicago, but borders on the EP. Then she took her talents to Minnesota University and plays hockey there for the Golden Gophers which is one of the better schools for the sport. After her freshman year, she joined the U.S. women’s hockey residency program. She trained in Blaine, Minnesota with some of the best female hockey players. Then got the call on New Year’s Day of 2022 at the age of 19 as she made the Olympic roster. She was the second youngest player selected. That team won the silver at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. She would return to Minnesota where she trained and continued to improve her craft on the ice. She then helped her team win the gold in the IIHF World Championships in 2023 & ’25. Now at the age of 23, the USA Women’s hockey team looks unstoppable as Murphy is hoping she can help deliver the gold in Italy this season.

The town of Evergreen Park has produced some other Olympian athletes over the years. Brad Guzan was on the U.S. Men’s National Soccer team as the goal keeper. Patrick Gasienica was an Olympic ski jumper back in 2022 in the Winter Olympics.

Maybe the best ever athlete in Evergreen Park history goes to Chris Chelios, who played on the Men’s USA Olympian teams in hockey. Chelios played decades in the NHL and was enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013. He played for the Blackhawks as the they retired his number. He won Stanley Cups with the mortal enemy, the Detroit Redwings. The town of Evergreen Park has also produced some solid baseball players like Jim Dwyer, who was one of the best pinch hitters in the game and won a World Series with the Orioles in 1983.

Dwyer was on that Orioles team that beat the winning ugly White Sox playoff team in the AL post-season to advance to the World Series in ’83. Other baseball players that originated form the EP were Ed Farmer, Donn Pall, and the great Billy Pierce. All three pitchers played for the Chicago White Sox in their respective careers.

Abbey Murphy, at only 23, may be the best female athlete in Evergreen Park history. The U.S. Women’s hockey team is a very talented group & Murphy has been a big part of that so far in Milan. Before she left to play in this year’s Winter Olympics, she was leading the NCAA with 36 goals in 26 games. She also racked up 23 penalties. In the Olympics she has shown other things she does on the ice very well. She has drawn 9 penalties because she can be very chippy on the ice. She’s an agitator who can get under opponents’ skin. The way she plays on the ice, it’s the work ethic she has on every play that could easily get under the skin of the opponent. If a teammate is in trouble, she is there for the rescue. Not scared to throw down the gloves if needed. Her play is not always on the stat sheet at the end of the night. She can dish out the punishment on the boards. She can generate three assists on goals like she did in the massacre of Canada. Murphy has not scored many goals, but the little things to help notch wins she has been awesome at. Her play is why she has a following back at home in one of the EP Italian institutions of Barraco’s where all these hockey games are being watched by many fans of hers and of the team. She has thrown out the first pitch at a White Sox game for her past accomplishments. Winning the gold like this team is pursuing, is a different animal. This team has outscored their opponents 26-1 in six games.

This has that feeling of the Men’s U.S.A. Hockey team that beat the Russians in 1980. Yes, that, “Do You Believe In Miracles?” line used by Al Michaels that has been replayed a million times since that team won it all. The work & preparation all these Olympians do to get to this point. What they do to their bodies to be the best is not human, but more superhero like. So far watching all this unfold has been a fun ride. If this team does win the gold, it will be very special to the entire nation who at this point are together and on the same team. That is not always the case when you bring up the word, “Politics.” What makes it extra special is rooting on someone from your own town doing it all. Plus, having multiple girls on that team from he Chicagoland area is special. I normally do not watch many female sports. Women’s hockey has been very fun to watch in a month where sports usually go dormant after the Superbowl. Abbey has been golden, Let’s hope they all come back with gold medals around their necks as we are witnessing something that does not come around often. Let’s enjoy it and take in some cool history that is unfolding in front of our eyes.

JIM KELLY ALONG WITH JOSH ALLEN HAVE NEVER HAD THE BACKING OF A TOP DEFENSIVE UNIT

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The Buffalo Bills have always lacked a top notch defense in eras where they have had top notch Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Josh Allen to me looks like a sure thing Hall of Fame quarterback as he is still presently playing and about to turn 30 years of age. Back in the 1990’s, the Bills went to 4 Superbowls with Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly. The results were no rings and zero Superbowl titles for wing city. The Bills in the 90’s had the big names like Bruce Smith. Cornelius Bennett, and Darryl Talley on those defenses. In present day the Bills defense has some solid names like Ed Oliver, Matt Milano, Cole Bishop, and Christian Benford. Both defensive units in both eras shared a mentality of bend don’t break styles and feast on turnovers. In both eras the Bills got the better defense in regular season than in post-season. Except this last season I did not like how the Bills were gutted like a house up the middle with the opposing teams running game. Very embarrassing. In the 1990’s the Bills defense played better in the AFC post-season than fall apart in the Superbowl. In three out of the 4 Superbowl games, the Bills were blown out. The Josh Allen era the defense has never had that big game in the later rounds of the post-season. They never shut down any of those Chiefs teams and even faltered with 13 seconds remaining in one of those playoff meetings with the lead and lost in OT. The Bills turned over the ball multiple times in the AFC Divisional round recently and lost even though they put 30 points on the scoreboard. This is why things had to change in Buffalo after that loss to the Broncos. Can the new hire at defense, a former Bills player Jim Leonhard, change the script on defense?

The Bills decided to fire their long tenured head coach Sean McDermott and replaced him with an in-house candidate, the young brilliant offensive coordinator Joe Brady who is only 36 years of age. The Bills decided to keep things young on Brady’s coaching staff and sign one of the hottest names to be the next solid defensive coordinator in the NFL in 43 year old Jim Leonhard. As a player, Leonhard was undrafted from the University of Wisconsin. He started his 10 year playing career with the Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played for the Bills in two stints of 4 seasons. He also suited up for the Jets, Ravens, Browns, and Broncos. He played defensive back along with special teams and played in 142 total games. He tallied up 332 tackles while sacking the quarterback 4.5 times. He had 14 interceptions. He was not all-pro as a player. He was a football player that gave you everything and played hard every play which is the definition of a guy making it into the NFL after not being selected in the draft.

The last two seasons Jim Leonhard has worked on Sean Payton’s staff in Denver. He has spent two seasons in Denver working under defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. He started as a defensive backs coach and pass coordinator in 2024. Last year he was the assistant head coach on the Broncos staff as defensive pass game coordinator. The Broncos defense was one of the best units in the league the last two seasons. The Broncos were one of the best at getting to the opposing team’s quarterback. In 2024 the Broncos defense tallied up 63 sacks. Last season they beat that with 68 sacks. Before coming to Denver Leonhard got started in the coaching world at his alma mater Wisconsin as he was hired on there as defensive backs coach in 2016. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2017 and kept the same job until the end of 2022. He finished the 2022 season being the interim head coach while still calling the plays on defense. He finished the season with a 4-3 record under his guidance.

Right now and the last few seasons, the Buffalo Bills has had one of the top offenses in the league. Since Joe Brady took over, the Bills offense has ran like a well-oiled machine. Back when Jim Kelly played he was running the K-Gun offense that he had humming in the late 80’s and into the 1990’s as that Bills offense was one of the best in the league. Kelly only played 11 seasons in the NFL and he shattered all the Bills quarterback records when he played. Kelly started his professional football career in the USFL after college. He played in 160 NFL games all with the Bills and had was 101-59 as a starter. He completed 60.1% of his passes. He tallied up 35,467 passing yards while throwing 237 touchdown passes. He had 175 interceptions. Allen’s numbers are even SICKER. Allen will break all of Kelly’s records sooner than later. Allen has played in 128 game all with the Bills as he completed his 8th season. He is 88-39 as a starter. He has a higher completion rate of 69.3% than Kelly’s 60.1%. It was a different game back then in Kelly’s era compared to present day. Allen has already tallied up 30,102 passing yards. He is really closing in on Kelly’s 35,467 passing yards. Allen has 220 touch down passes compared to 94 interceptions. Let’s not forget Allen has 79 rushing touchdowns. If any franchise had these two quarterbacks at any time, you would expect at least one Superbowl title or more from either guy. You would think they would win a Superbowl with the defenses they had as well. They have not been terrible. Just unreliable in the big games on the biggest stage.

If I could pick one defense in Bills history to pair with either Josh Allen or back in the day with Jim Kelly, it would have been the 2014 unit. It was a one year wonder when Jim Schwartz was defensive coordinator. That unit led the league in sacks with 54. Schwartz went with a 4-3 defensive scheme. It was a aggressive unit of high pressure attack style. When the running back or receiver caught the ball, they swarmed to make the tackles as a team. It looked like a mugging. Or Rodney King beat down without the clubs. They were 3rd in the league in forcing turnovers. They finished the season 4th overall. The team finished 9-7 that season and just missed the playoffs. Then Rex Ryan was hired the very next season and ruined that defense they had in place. Mario Williams and his red terminator eyes was the reincarnation of Bruce Smith as he was a one man wrecking crew on the edge. Schwartz did not get the Cleveland head coaching job after what he did for that Browns defense last season. I thought a reunion could be in the works bringing the Schwartz back to Western New York. Can Jim Leonhard bring this kind of shenanigans to the table with his new defense?

“We’re going to be an attacking defense up front and in the back end. We’re going to attack the football.”

Some of the words by the new Bills defensive coordinator. Brings back memories of the 2014 defensive unit.

“We are going to be aggressive and fly around. We are going to force them to react to us, I don’t like the counter punch.”

Jim Leonhard’s press conference gives any Bills Mafia members goosebumps up and down their arms and shoulders. With words like AGGRESSIVE AND ATTACK.

I feel like Jim Leonhard could use former Giants Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor’s motivation crazed dogs speech in his new Bills style of attack defense. Leonhard plans to change the Bills 4-3 scheme to a 3-4 scheme. He will have to figure out what guys he has currently that he can use and hope they have the skill set for that defense. He will need to draft some pieces to this master puzzle he has in the works. The Bills front office might need to bring in some free agents to make this work. Right now Leonhard is the key master in this entire thing. If his defense succeeds and the Bills will get over the playoff humps and bumps they have been dealing with. If Allen has a top defense, the Bills team can erase mistakes that were made in that Denver game. Allen’s stupid fumble right at the end of first half. Then the James Cook fumble that changed momentum in that game as the Bills could have gone up 14-3 at that point vs Denver. Look at the Superbowl match up. Seattle’s defense is nicknamed the DARK SIDE because they allow a league low of 17.2 points per game. Allen in most games can score 20 points before halftime. The Patriots defense is also a pretty good unit as well. I feel like as a Bills fan I will not have to pray and pray harder for the Bills to get the turnover to stop the drive. I think we will see way more 3 and outs by the Bills defense next season. The turnovers will come as well. Stopping the run will be the gate master out of this entire thing that unfolded after the loss to Denver. I think the young minds of football like Sean McVay and Ben Johnson are proof in the pudding that it works. The Bills right now have two of those great young football minds on both sides of the ball with Joe Brady and the new guy Leonhard who is actually the old guy age-wise. Defense in Buffalo!!! With Allen and Cook. Give Allen a solid receiver in there. Whoa, Jimmy!!! Now you just have to roll out this master plan on the field next season in the new stadium. Very exciting!!!

SEAHAWKS HAS TO SAVE THE GALAXY FROM ANOTHER HOSTILE EMPIRE TAKE OVER BY THE PATRIOTS

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The NFL script is not shy about letting certain teams collect Superbowl trophies in long stretches. We finally exterminated the Patrick Mahomes & Travis Swift dynasty and the annoying Kansas City Chiefs in last year’s Superbowl. I had to become an Eagles fan last February. The Eagles beat down of the Chiefs was well worth it. The Chiefs could not even make it to the post-season this year. The Chiefs probably will be back at some point with an aging pop singer sitting in the stands rooting for the meathead tight end she is going to marry. Now the Patriots are back in the Superbowl. Already? It did not seem too long ago the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick dynasty was over. The Empire had fallen. History seems to always repeat itself as we remember Brady in his first ever Superbowl in 2001. He was drafted in the later rounds while the Patriots had that underdog story going to the heavy favorite St.Louis Rams. No way they were going to beat Kurt Warner and the greatest show on turf. We did not know Belichick was a peeping tom filming other teams’ practices. We did not know about scandals coming such as deflate gate or spy gate. Along with Patriots owner Robert Kraft getting busted with a hooker. Let’s not forget the murderer tight end they had a few seasons.It always seems like the NFL is setting up the greatest, cutest little script here. Drake Maye in his second year in the NFLas the starting quarterback has guided his Patriots to a perfect record on the road. The Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel could make history winning a Superbowl as the coach for the same franchise he won with being a player in the first dynasty. Seattle is favored in this game. We also rooted for the Chiefs to beat Brady and company before Kansas City was stuffed down our throats with no end in sight.The Seahawks could certainly end this rebirth of the Patriots and stop it. Prevent the next dynasty from getting off the ground and save the world from another hostile takeover. You have to be a Seattle fan this year. To stop the madness before it lingers on for years to come like some kind of plague.

This will be the 12th Superbowl the New England Patriots have gotten to. The Patriots have won six Superbowls. The previous Empire dynasty went to 9 title games. Tom Brady & Bill Belichick went 6-3 in those 9 Superbowls. Brady went on to win his 7th Superbowl title with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With those six wins, the Patriots are tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Superbowl wins of all-time. The city of Bean Town already has the NBA with the Celtics with the most titles in that league. Do we need the Patriots to have the NFL record to themselves by the end of the weekend as well? We’d rather have the results of the first two ever Superbowls the Patriots were in. In their first Superbowl, New England were crushed by the Bears in the 1985 season.

The Patriots quarterbacks Steve Grogan and Tony Eason had no chance with that Bears defense that swallowed those guys up. It would take the Patriots over 10 years before we saw them back for their second title game which was the 1996 season. I rooted for the Patriots that year in hoping their quarterback Drew Bledsoe would take out Brett Favre and the hated Packers. Bledsoe was not very good in that title game as he had 4 interceptions and Favre would win his only Superbowl of his career as Packers won 35-21. It did not take the Patriots that long to get to their 3rd Superbowl in 2001. The season Bledsoe got hurt during the regular season season and Tom Brady took over, the dynasty officially began.

If you look back at the first Superbowl run by the Patriots, they got the break of a lifetime in the divisional round against the Raiders. The fumble by Tom Brady in a snowstorm could have been Raiders ball and a win on the road for Oakland who was visiting New England. The fuck tuck rule that the Patriots benefited from in that one got them the ball back. The referees said Brady’s arm was going forward and it was an incomplete pass. Did the current Patriots get a break of the lifetime facing the Broncos second string quarterback Jarrett Stidham in the AFC Championship game? Yes, they did. In a blinding snowstorm as well, as Stidham started off well in that game filling in for Bo Nix who was injured in the Bills game a week before in the AFC divisional round. Nix has a season-ending injury with a broken ankle. Stidham did not really do much after the first quarter. His mistake set the Patriots up for an easy touchdown. Their only touchdown of the game.The Broncos defense kept the team in the game as Drake Maye did not have a great either. Why did Sean Payton elected to go for 4th down in the first quarter of that game instead of kicking the easy field goal. The Broncos lost to the Patriots 10-7. The Broncos could have been up 10-0 with the blinding snow in the forecast. Can a break like this be history repeating itself for the Patriots? In 2001, the Patriots had to get by a power house team like the Rams from the NFC West to win their first ever Superbowl. Now this new regime of the Patriots will face a power house team from the NFC West in the Seahawks who have to be favored by a touchdown or more.

The Seattle Seahawks won their first ever Superbowl vs the Broncos in 2014. It was Superbowl 48 as they slaughtered the Broncos 48-3. Then the Seahwaks could have won back-to-back Superbowls as they had a ten point lead on the Patriots in Superbowl 49 in 2015 in the second half. Tom Brady and the Patriots offense came back in that game to give New England the lead. The Seattle offense got the ball where they wanted it for a game winning touchdown with a time out in their back pocket. It was the Patriots with the goal line stand that secured the game for New England. The Seahawks chose to pass the ball instead of giving the ball to BEAST MODE Marshawn Lynch, Seattle’s stud running back to run it for the score.

They had a time out & they could have ran the ball twice with chances to knock off New England. Instead Malcolm Butler gets the interception on the slant play Seattle tried to throw. Now Seattle has to figure how to slay the demons that haunts this franchise from the past. They have a chance to slay those demons and prevent a hostile takeover for years to come with this Patriots franchise.

These Patriots are not the feel good underdog story people should be rooting for. You still have the sexual predator as the owner in Robert Kraft this go around. The offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels can’t hold down a head coaching job in this league so he is one of those A-Holes from the last regime. Throw in the Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and his two car garage he has as a nose. He played for the old regime. If you look at the month of December’s police blotter you will see a few Patriots players from this team pop up on the list. The Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs strangled his chef. What, she did not cut the crust off the bread? Then a defensive lineman threw the mother of his two year old son to the ground. Sure you can say he was practicing his tackling skills off the clock. These two will play in the Superbowl. They will have their day in court coming up after the season concludes. You can either hate the Drake Maye or like the Drake which is a debate in an episode of Seinfeld. That was about Drake coffee cake. The Patriots took advantage of one of the easiest schedules this season to win the AFC North and clinch the number two seed in post-season. Things are aligned right for them in another take over of the NFL galaxy. A Superbowl win by the Patriots this season & the script will have them once again in the thick of things playing the reborn Chiefs in next years AFC championship. If Seattle wins, the Patriots might fall into a million pieces and not be able to pick themselves up all over the galaxy.

It may be hard for them with a difficult schedule next season. The Superbowl hangover by losing teams is for real. Ask the Chiefs. From my eyes watching the post-season, Seattle is the better team. Maye has a hurt shoulder. Seattle’s story is better with a guy labeled as a first round bust in Sam Darnold who could win the Superbowl. He was drafted by the Jets. He was horrific or infected by the Jets coaching staff. Darnold did very well with the Vikings last year. The Vikings did not make the post-season letting Darnold leave for Seattle and giving the keys to the car to JJ McCarthy. If you were going to tell me Darnold would be the first QB from the class of 2018 draft to make it to the Superbowl and perhaps win it, many would say you are crazy. Bake Mayfield, Josh Allen, or Lamar Jackson are three guys you would put money down on when it came to the 2018 NFL draft class. I like the Seattle script. They slay their old demons from Superbowl 49 and prevent the Empire taking over the NFL galaxy once again which is a win/win. They have a defense that is called the Darkside that will be out to blow up the Death Star and take down the Evil Empire’s resurrection. Why not give the ring to a guy that was considered a first round bust? That is what I call the underdog story in this NFL plot.